Hanover Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Hanover Area School District in Luzerne County enrolled 2,233 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It has kept phones in lockers since 2022.

Hanover Area phone rules today

The Times Leader reported on August 17, 2022 that Superintendent Nathan Barrett announced all student phones and personal electronic devices, including smart watches, must be turned off and left in lockers during the school day. Barrett said phones had been used to photograph tests and share them with later periods, to shame and bully and to set up fights, and that 202 phones were confiscated the year before. The district's news page lists a cell phone and electronic communication device policy.

Emergency communication

Barrett said a new app would give parents "up to the minute" information in emergencies: "If we are in lock down you will receive a text that everyone is safe in the classroom, that 25 of 25 students are there." The phone system was also upgraded with emergency buttons to 911.

What Act 117 requires of Hanover 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	Hanover Area today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Off and in lockers during the school 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	Parent emergency app	Written notice each year and on enrollment of a staffed contact method and emergency sign-up. The app may cover part of this.
Tell families, teachers and students about the policy each year; verify to PDE within 5 business days that it is posted online	District policy (2022; news page)	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Hanover Area built its rule around lockers and a parent alert app. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so phones stay with students and locked, 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 Hanover Township

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