Juniata Valley School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Juniata Valley School District in Huntingdon County enrolled 659 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its high school started a no-phones-in-class rule in 2026-27.

Juniata Valley phone rules today

A student report in the Huntingdon Daily News Press Club section on October 16, 2026 says the district put a no-phones rule in place for 2026-27. High School Principal Matt Franks said: "Phones are distracting students in classrooms. When students are on their phones, they aren't engaged in the lesson being taught." He added that students were using AI apps to answer their work, and that "things are going well with the policy." Math teacher Jennifer Payne said, "Students are more attentive in class because they are not distracted by their phones."

Storage varies by room

The report says some teachers use a wooden box with slots, some a crate, some a locked phone holder and some a hanging numbered holder. Students raised the question of what happens in an emergency without their phones.

What Act 117 requires of Juniata Valley 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	Juniata Valley today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Classrooms, 2026-27	Confirm the rule covers lunch and passing time.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Classroom holders (vary by room)	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	Add medical, IEP/504 and English learner translation.
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	District policy	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Juniata Valley runs four kinds of holders across its classrooms. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so every room follows the same rule, and Emergency Mode unlocks every phone on campus at once, subject to counsel review.

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 Alexandria

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