Abington Heights School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Abington Heights School District in Lackawanna County enrolled 3,403 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its superintendent has argued for local control of phone rules.

Abington Heights phone rules today

The Times-Tribune reported on December 29, 2025 that Abington Heights students must put phones in a carrier at the start of class and retrieve them when they leave. The 2025-26 high school handbook leaves class use to the teacher's discretion with confiscation for misuse, and the elementary handbook says phones may be brought but must be off during the school day.

The superintendent's view

"In my opinion, I think it would be very challenging to do a ban where you prohibited kids from bringing phones to school," Superintendent Christopher Shaffer told the Times-Tribune. He said phones should not be in the classroom, supported school board autonomy because communities differ, and said, "We as educators need to work with our families and our students on how to best utilize the technology in a manner that's effective and at the same time respectful of that educational space." Act 117 leaves possession to the board, so students can still bring phones.

What Act 117 requires of Abington Heights by 2027-28

Gov. Josh Shapiro approved SB 1014 on October 26, 2026. It is Act 117 of 2026, and it took effect that day. The text is Printer's No. 1697 on palegis.us. Every school entity must adopt a bell-to-bell policy by the start of the 2027-28 school year.

Act 117 requires	Abington Heights today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Class-period carriers at the high school	Extend to lunch and passing time.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Carrier each class; elementary phones off	Aligned on method if extended all day.
Required exceptions: documented medical need of the student or an immediate family member, IEP or 504, English learner translation, limited teacher-approved instructional use	Not stated	Write in all four required exceptions.
Optional: a principal may approve another exception for up to one school day, with notice to the superintendent within 5 days after	Teacher discretion in class	Teacher use must meet Act 117's three conditions; other exceptions capped at one day.
Written notice each year and on enrollment: a staffed way to reach your child, and how to sign up for emergency notifications	Not stated	Written notice each year and on enrollment of a staffed contact method and emergency sign-up.
Tell families, teachers and students about the policy each year; verify to PDE within 5 business days that it is posted online	Handbook rules	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Abington Heights wants students to keep bringing phones. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so phones come to school as Shaffer prefers and stay locked in the hallways and cafeteria, alongside the carriers already in classrooms.

Act 117 has no general student emergency-use exception. The closest tool is the optional principal exception, which is capped at one school day and reported to the superintendent within five days afterward. LockedIn's Emergency Mode unlocks every phone on campus at once, so districts should have counsel review how that fits their emergency procedures and Act 117's exception rules.

Private and independent schools in Clarks Summit

Act 117's definition of "school entity" includes private schools, approved private schools and nonpublic schools, so Clarks Summit's private, independent and parochial schools need their own bell-to-bell policy by 2027-28. For those schools, the governing body plays the role the superintendent plays in a district, including receiving notice of any principal-approved exception.

Draft a policy that tracks Act 117's required exceptions and family notices with our policy generator.