Upper St. Clair School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Upper St. Clair School District in Allegheny County enrolled 4,028 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its rules loosen by grade, up to teacher-by-teacher choices for juniors and seniors.

Upper St. Clair phone rules today

Upper St. Clair's Personal Electronic Devices page sets four tiers:

• K-6, "Prohibited Use During School Hours": devices are off and stored in a backpack or designated area all day. Smartwatches may be worn on Do Not Disturb.
• 7-8 (Fort Couch), "Restricted During School Hours, Extenuating Circumstances Only": phones, earbuds and tablets only with teacher permission for a specific purpose; otherwise silenced in a classroom caddy or locker, including at lunch, recess and free time.
• 9-10: devices silenced in the classroom caddy unless a teacher allows use.
• 11-12: students follow each teacher's directions on device use and whether to use the caddy.

Smartwatch distractions are handled with families through the school's tiered behavior support framework.

What Act 117 requires of Upper St. Clair 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	Upper St. Clair today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	K-8 no use including lunch; 11-12 teacher by teacher	Set one whole-day rule for 9-12, including lunch and passing time.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Backpacks, caddies, lockers	Keep a whole-day method at every level.
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 on the page	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	Teacher permission for a specific purpose	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	Expectations posted with district handbooks	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Upper St. Clair already holds K-8 to a full day. For 9-12, LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so it runs alongside the caddies and replaces the teacher-by-teacher rule for juniors and seniors with one consistent day.

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 Upper St. Clair

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