Uniontown Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Uniontown Area School District in Fayette County enrolled 2,536 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It tested a phone-free day at one school before the state acted.

Uniontown Area phone rules today

The Herald-Standard reported on June 17, 2026 that for the last two months of 2025-26, Lafayette Middle School piloted a rule under which students could not access phones during the day. Using a grant, the district bought Yondr pouches; students sealed phones at the start of the day and got them back after the final bell.

The 2026-27 K-8 handbook, as summarized, keeps phones off and in backpacks unless staff direct otherwise. Whether pouches expanded to other schools for 2026-27 is not confirmed.

Results

"It was a great opportunity for us to really pilot those and see what it could look like on a small scale at Lafayette Middle School, and I've been very pleased with the results," Superintendent Daniel Bosnic said. Students responded well after early skepticism, and an end-of-year staff survey was overwhelmingly positive. "We felt like there was more engagement with our students as a result of those cellphones being in those pouches," he said.

What Act 117 requires of Uniontown 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	Uniontown Area today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Pouch pilot at Lafayette MS (spring 2026); K-8 phones off in backpacks	Extend a whole-day rule to every school, including the high school.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Yondr pouches at the pilot school	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	Before and after school contact with parents allowed	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	Handbook rules	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Uniontown Area liked the pouch pilot but works with a tight fund balance. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so the pilot's results can reach every school without buying and replacing pouches, and it can run alongside the pouches already bought.

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 Uniontown

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