Pennsylvania Funds Smartphone Bags for Schools to Limit Student Phone Use

Pennsylvania schools will be able to use state grants to buy smartphone bags as educators and lawmakers seek to limit students’ use of mobile devices during the school day. Under a new budget signed on July 11 by Gov. Josh Shapiro, the commonwealth will allocate more than $120 million toward an existing school safety and mental health grant, which has been expanded to provide schools with resources to deal with the cellphone usage problem. The program provides each school district with an automatic base grant of $100,000. Schools may use the money to buy “secure, lockable smartphone bags” in which students can deposit their mobile devices until the end of the day. Schools must first adopt an official policy to prohibit cellphone usage during school hours....