East Stroudsburg Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

East Stroudsburg Area School District enrolled 6,353 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its Code of Conduct already bans phone use for the whole school day.

East Stroudsburg phone rules today

From the ESASD 2025-26 Code of Student Conduct:

• Not visible, on or used. Students may bring phones, but personal electronic devices "shall not be visible, turned on or used by students during the school day."
• No recording, photos or internet use.
• Confiscation plus a conference with the student before return. Parents may have to pick up the phone in person.
• Refusing to hand over a phone counts as insubordination, with added consequences.

The Code defines "Principal" to include assistant principals and designees.

What Act 117 requires of East Stroudsburg 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	East Stroudsburg today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Not visible, on or used during the school day	No change in scope.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	With the student, off and out of sight	No change needed.
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 confirmed in the Code excerpt	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	Not stated	Optional one-day principal exception with notice within 5 days.
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	Code of Conduct online	Annual notice and PDE posting verification.

Where LockedIn fits

ESASD relies on phones being off and out of sight, with insubordination penalties when students refuse to hand them over. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so there are fewer of those standoffs.

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 the Stroudsburg area

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