Windber Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Windber Area School District in Somerset County enrolled 1,261 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its superintendent testified on the statewide ban.

Windber Area phone rules today

Windber Area High School's posted policy says students may not use phones during instructional time; phones are off and, as recommended, kept in designated classroom phone holders, and use is allowed at lunch and between classes. A first offense means the phone goes to the office until the end of the day, a second brings a call home, a third requires a parent to pick it up, and further offenses start with after-school detention. Refusing to hand over a phone brings the office or school resource officer and an immediate suspension. Smartwatches and unapproved earbuds are treated the same way.

Testimony to the Senate

On October 21, 2025, Superintendent Michael Vuckovich testified for the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators before the Senate Education Committee. He urged that any statewide policy "preserves local flexibility," noted that pouches like Yondr cost about $20 per student a year and that many districts lack staff to collect thousands of phones, and warned, "Without flexibility, a cellphone ban risks becoming an unfunded mandate." He said a uniform ban could disadvantage students who rely on translation, health monitoring or accessibility tools, and asked the state to require every district to adopt a policy and report on it.

What Act 117 requires of Windber 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	Windber Area today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Instructional time only; lunch and passing open	Close lunch and passing.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Classroom phone holders (recommended)	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	High school policy notice	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Windber's superintendent warned about the staff time of collecting phones. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so extending the rule to lunch and passing does not add a collection job, and it can run alongside the phone holders.

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 Windber

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