The Pleasant Valley School District is exploring ways to implement a cellphone usage ban during the school day for students. They discussed the bell-to-bell cellphone ban bill at their meeting on Thursday. On Monday, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed the bill into law.

The state Senate passed Senate Bill 1014 on Oct. 21, and the companion bill (House Bill 1814) in the state House of Representatives was passed on June 1.

The new law requires all Pennsylvania public, charter, cyber charter, and private schools to adopt policies that prohibit students from using personal cellphones throughout the school day. This includes during lunch, recess, and between classes. Full implementation of the state ban will go into effect in the 2027-2028 school year for grades Kindergarten to 12.

According to the press release announcing the new law, “While the use of technology in moderation can support learning, creativity, and communication, studies have shown excessive screen time can contribute to increased stress, disrupted sleep, and worsened academic performance. With the signing of this legislation, Pennsylvania joins more than two dozen other states in keeping devices out of students’ hands from the start of the school day until dismissal to help them focus, engage with peers, and build social and emotional skills — delivering on a priority the governor called for during his 2026-27 Budget Address.”

Superintendent James Konrad told the school board on Thursday that 43 states restrict cellphone usage through statewide policy bans; 23 states plus Washington D.C. have bell-to-bell cellphone bans.

Konrad said he and other administration members visited Stroudsburg High School recently to learn more about their cellphone implementation plan. They had been working with Stroudsburg to coordinate a date since late September, so it was not in response to the Senate passage in October.

Konrad explained that at Stroudsburg’s high school, students place their cellphones in a lockbox during their first period and pick them up at the end of the school day.

“There’s obviously, communication tools for parents,” Konrad said. … “I’m not going to go into all the details now. But again, it was a very thorough and vetted process.”

Konrad said Pleasant Valley is going to work on implementing this possibly during the school year.

“Right now, we’re looking at selecting a particular grade level, probably in the second semester, and then probably looking to pilot this. Because again, before we have 1,300 students impacted by this, it would be helpful for us to get some data, some feedback, and see what is and what isn’t working,” he said.

The school district already has a policy at the middle school where students have to leave their cellphones in their lockers during the school day.

“One of the things that we believe in is trying to educate our students to make good decisions, but we know, and I have a high school students as well, that when that phone is dinging in your pocket, it’s very to have the control to not what to answer it. So, we understand the challenges,” Konrad said.

When visiting the high school in Stroudsburg, Konrad said one of the things that stood out to him was the difference in student interactions. At the PVHS cafeteria, students were constantly on their phones, he said. At Stroudsburg, Konrad said he asked students to tell him what they see during lunch. Both students and administrators said kids are talking more and playing games.

“They said it was really neat to see students actually making eye contact,” Konrad said.