Wyoming Valley West School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Wyoming Valley West School District in Luzerne County enrolled 4,959 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It started a class-by-class phone collection in 2025-26.

Wyoming Valley West phone rules today

The Citizens' Voice reported on October 14, 2025 that under Valley West's new cellphone policy, students turn their phones over to teachers at the start of every class. Teachers keep them in designated holders, which officials compared to calculator cases, at a set place in the room.

Superintendent Charles Suppon reviewed the policy at the October 8, 2025 board meeting and said teachers report better concentration. "It's made a massive difference," he said. A parent who visited Valley West Middle School on September 25 called it "a vast improvement from years past."

What Act 117 requires of Wyoming Valley West 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	Wyoming Valley West today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Phones collected each class; use between classes not addressed in reports	Prohibit use for the whole day, including lunch and passing time.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Teacher-held holders in each classroom	Choose a whole-day method; per-class collection returns phones between classes.
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 in reports	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	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	Policy text not found online	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Valley West teachers already collect phones every period. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so it can run alongside the holders and cover the time between classes and at lunch without a hand-off at every bell.

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 Kingston

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