Greater Nanticoke Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Greater Nanticoke Area School District in Luzerne County enrolled 2,293 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. In 2026 it paired a high school locker replacement with an all-day phone rule.

Greater Nanticoke Area phone rules today

The Times Leader reported on April 10, 2026 that the board approved a $641,000 bid to replace about 1,300 high school lockers, which Superintendent Ronald J. Grevera said were more than 50 years old. Grevera said the lockers "will also allow a place for students to lock up their cell phones during the school day, as they will not be allowed to be accessible to students from homeroom until the end of the school day." He added, "Recent studies show that too much screen time is detrimental to the mental health of students."

The GNA Insider, the high school's student paper, reported that students are now required to keep phones in their lockers at all times, alongside new search and ID badge rules. The 2025-26 handbook, as summarized, had allowed phones before 7:05 a.m., at lunch and after 1:50 p.m.

A student safety concern

Writing in the GNA Insider, students raised a concern about emergencies: during past bomb threats, students were dismissed early while their phones were still in their lockers.

What Act 117 requires of Greater Nanticoke 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	Greater Nanticoke Area today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Lockers from homeroom to end of day	Aligned with the whole-day rule.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Lockers	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	Not stated	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	New rule with locker project (2026)	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Greater Nanticoke Area spent $641,000 on lockers to hold phones. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so phones can stay with students during an early dismissal, and it runs alongside the new 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 Nanticoke

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