Blue Mountain School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Blue Mountain School District in Schuylkill County enrolled 2,424 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its superintendent has argued that a state ban takes away useful flexibility.

Blue Mountain phone rules today

The Republican Herald reported on September 8, 2026 that Blue Mountain has had a strict policy for several years that essentially requires all phones to be "off and away," according to Superintendent Jason Lilly.

The superintendent's objection

Lilly said a statewide ban would be "more challenging than supportive." "In some instances we use phones in courses where they are beneficial, especially in our STEM course offerings," he said, such as photographing through a microscope lens or an App Design course. "If this total ban goes through, we will have to explore other options like iPads to be able to do similar things. That will cost us money that right now wasn't a necessary expense." He added, "I believe strict cellphone policies should be left to local districts to decide."

What Act 117 allows

Act 117 lets a teacher use phones as an instructional tool with principal approval, but only when a school device is insufficient or unavailable, for a limited circumstance and duration, and not as a regular part of instruction. A recurring App Design unit would likely need school devices.

What Act 117 requires of Blue Mountain 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	Blue Mountain today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Off and away for several years	Aligned with the whole-day rule if it covers lunch.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Off and away	Aligned: Act 117 lets boards decide possession.
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	Phones used in STEM courses	Teacher use must meet Act 117's three conditions; other exceptions capped at one day. Regular course use is not allowed.
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	Policy text not found	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Blue Mountain wants to keep phones for occasional STEM lessons. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so a principal-approved microscope lesson can be unlocked for one class period and logged while the rest of the day stays locked.

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 Orwigsburg

Act 117's definition of "school entity" includes private schools, approved private schools and nonpublic schools, so Orwigsburg'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.