Wyalusing Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Wyalusing Area School District in Bradford County enrolled 1,224 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It tightened its rule in 2024.

Wyalusing Area phone rules today

MyHometownToday reported on August 15, 2024 that for 2024-25 Wyalusing Valley Junior/Senior High School prohibits phones in the building and on campus during school hours, including classrooms, study halls, hallways, gyms, locker rooms and bathrooms, unless administration allows it. Phones must be off and stored in a backpack or locker. Students in grades 9 through 12 may use phones at lunch, a privilege that can be revoked. Exceptions cover medical reasons and other extenuating circumstances.

Three strikes

A first strike means confiscation. A second brings confiscation and a 45-day ban on bringing a phone, and a third bars the student from bringing a phone for the rest of the school year.

What Act 117 requires of Wyalusing 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	Wyalusing Area today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	All day except grades 9-12 lunch	End lunch use.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Off, in backpack or locker	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	Medical and extenuating circumstances	List family medical, IEP/504 and English learner translation; cap other exceptions at one day.
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	Handbook (2024-25)	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Wyalusing escalates to long bans on bringing a phone at all. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so the rule holds without confiscation, and families keep the phone for the trip home.

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 Wyalusing

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