Hazleton Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Hazleton Area School District enrolled 13,141 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. The Times-Tribune reported in September 2025 that Hazleton Area prohibits phone use during the school day except in certain circumstances.

Hazleton Area phone rules today

Superintendent Brian Uplinger described the district's approach to the Times-Tribune in September 2025:

• No use during the school day, with limited exceptions. The Standard-Speaker has reported that phones seen or heard on school grounds or buses may be confiscated.
• Translation. Uplinger acknowledged that phones give students translation tools, but said "challenges often outweigh the benefits during the school day." Students have district Chromebooks.
• Engagement. "Teachers consistently tell us that when cellphones are put away, students are more engaged," he said.
• Emergencies. The district relies on intercoms, radios and a mass notification system. "Parents are always able to reach the school office in an emergency, and we can reach parents directly through our district notification system."

The board policy text is on the district's policies page. We did not confirm its number or wording.

What Act 117 requires of Hazleton 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	Hazleton Area today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	No use during the school day, with exceptions	Confirm lunch and passing time are covered.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Confiscation if seen or heard	Spell out the possession method in the policy.
Required exceptions: documented medical need of the student or an immediate family member, IEP or 504, English learner translation, limited teacher-approved instructional use	Exceptions not published in detail; translation weighed against distraction	Act 117 requires an English learner translation exception even when Chromebooks exist, plus the medical, IEP/504 and instructional 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	School office line and district notification system	Already in place in practice. Put both in a written notice each year and on enrollment.
Tell families, teachers and students about the policy each year; verify to PDE within 5 business days that it is posted online	Policy on district site	Annual notice and PDE posting verification.

Where LockedIn fits

Hazleton Area already counts on staff noticing phones and confiscating them. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, and it can run alongside the district's rule that phones stay put away.

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 Hazleton area

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