Ellwood City Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Ellwood City Area School District in Lawrence County enrolled 1,520 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its 2026 policy is one of the closest matches to Act 117 we have found.

Ellwood City Area phone rules today

EllwoodCity.org reported on August 11, 2026 that the district approved a new student phone policy. Superintendent Amy Anderson said, "Students will still be permitted to bring mobile devices to school, but devices will be secured during the school day," and "Each school will maintain a dedicated, staffed line through the main office for families to contact their child during the school day."

The revised draft of Policy 237.1, Mobile Devices, cites Section 1314-A of the School Code. Devices must be off or silent and secured in assigned lockers with a lock for the entire school day, defined to include homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time. If lockers are unavailable, designated staff hold the device. The definition covers smartwatches, earbuds, tablets, e-readers, cameras and "Meta glasses."

Exceptions

The draft lists mandatory exceptions for a documented medical condition of the student or an immediate family member, an IEP or 504 plan, English learner translation, and teacher instructional use when a school device is insufficient, the principal approves, and the use is limited and not a regular part of instruction. It also allows principal-approved discretionary exceptions with notice to the superintendent, and directs the superintendent to set up emergency notification sign-up.

What Act 117 requires of Ellwood City Area 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	Ellwood City Area today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Lockers for the entire school day	Aligned with the whole-day rule.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Assigned lockers with locks; staff hold if none	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	All four mandatory exceptions listed	Aligned.
Optional: a principal may approve another exception for up to one school day, with notice to the superintendent within 5 days after	Teacher use with all three conditions	Teacher use must meet Act 117's three conditions; other exceptions capped at one day. The draft matches; confirm the one-day cap on discretionary exceptions.
Written notice each year and on enrollment: a staffed way to reach your child, and how to sign up for emergency notifications	Staffed office line; emergency sign-up	Aligned; confirm annual and enrollment notice.
Tell families, teachers and students about the policy each year; verify to PDE within 5 business days that it is posted online	Policy 237.1 (rev. 2026)	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Ellwood City has already written Act 117's terms into policy and is relying on lockers and locks. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so students without a usable locker are covered without staff holding phones, alongside the lockers.

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 Ellwood City

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