PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 1753, 1771 PRINTER'S NO. 1803
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 1207
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY AUMENT, ARGALL, MASTRIANO, SCHWANK, BREWSTER,
VOGEL AND SANTARSIERO, JUNE 21, 2024
AS AMENDED ON THIRD CONSIDERATION, JULY 2, 2024
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
2 act relating to the public school system, including certain
3 provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
4 schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
5 laws relating thereto," in school safety and security,
6 establishing the Cell Phone Lockable Bag Pilot Program.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
10 as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding a
11 section to read:
12 Section 1322-B. Cell Phone Lockable Bag Pilot Program.
13 (a) Establishment.--The Cell Phone Lockable Bag Pilot
14 Program is established in the committee. The purpose of the
15 program shall be to provide funding to cover the costs of
16 purchasing secure cell phone lockable bags. The committee shall,
17 within 90 days of the effective date of this section and subject
18 to availability of funds, award grants to successful applicants
19 and ensure that grant funding under the program is
20 geographically dispersed throughout this Commonwealth. The
 1 number of applicants chosen shall be contingent upon the amount
2 of funding allocated.
3 (b) Duties.--A school entity that participates in the
4 program must:
5 (1) Create a school entity policy that prohibits the use
6 of cell phones during school time and employs the use of <--
7 REQUIRES STUDENTS TO USE cell phone lockable bags., PROVIDED <--
8 THAT NOTHING IN THE POLICY SHALL PROHIBIT A SCHOOL EMPLOYEE
9 FROM USING A CELL PHONE DURING SCHOOL TIME TO PERFORM THE
10 EMPLOYEE'S WORK. The policy shall provide for exemptions for
11 students who have a documented medical condition that
12 necessitates the use of the phone, such as diabetes. The
13 school entity's adopted policy shall be posted on the school
14 entity's publicly accessible Internet website.
15 (2) Track changes over the course of two school years in
16 student mental health, incidents of bullying, incidents of
17 violence and academic performance and submit that information
18 to the committee. The committee shall develop a uniform
19 report method for the school entity to use to track each of
20 the metrics.
21 (c) Report.--The committee shall submit to the Governor and
22 the General Assembly a report on the program utilizing the data
23 submitted to the committee AND SHALL INCLUDE THIS REPORT IN THE <--
24 SCHOOL SAFETY ANNUAL REPORT REQUIRED UNDER SECTION 1302.1-B(7).
25 The report may not contain any identifiable information
26 regarding a student. Any information submitted by school
27 entities as part of the program, the disclosure of which would
28 be reasonably likely to result in a substantial and demonstrable
29 risk of physical harm or the personal security of students or
30 staff shall remain confidential and shall not be subject to the
20240SB1207PN1803 - 2 -
 1 act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-
2 Know Law. The committee may release aggregate data at its
3 discretion.
4 (d) Expiration.--This section shall expire December 1, 2026.
5 (e) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
6 words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
7 subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
8 "Cell phone lockable bag." A reusable, secure case, pouch,
9 or bag that has a locking mechanism and can be used to store
10 cell phones and other smart devices.
11 "Program." The Cell Phone Lockable Bag Pilot Program.
12 "School entity." Notwithstanding section 1301-B, a school
13 district, intermediate unit, area career and technical school,
14 charter school, regional charter school, approved private
15 school, nonpublic school, chartered school for the education of
16 the deaf or the blind or private residential rehabilitative
17 institution.
18 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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Statutes/Laws affected:
Printer's No. 1753: P.L.30, No.14
Printer's No. 1771: P.L.30, No.14
Printer's No. 1803: P.L.30, No.14