Local schools ready for ban on cellphones

Bell-to-bell ban on devices now law, but districts will have say on implementation

Gov. Josh Shapiro on Monday signed into law a statewide bell-to-bell cellphone ban, prohibiting students from using their cellphones throughout the school day but preserving local control -- allowing individual school districts to design and implement their own specific guidelines before the start of the 2027-28 school year.

Many school districts in Blair County have already implemented policies related to student cellphone use during the school day.

Some districts, such as Claysburg-Kimmel and Bellwood-Antis, will be slightly affected by the new law, Act 117 of 2026, because they currently have policies that allow students to use their phones during lunch and other noninstructional times.

The law now requires phones to be secured so students cannot access them until the end of the day, though there are exceptions for certain emergency and medical needs.

At other districts, like Altoona Area and Tyrone Area, that has already been their standard practice for some time, officials said.

Altoona Area

The law will not impact Altoona Area as the district's current policy has already established the expectations and enforcement outlined in it, Superintendent Brad Hatch said.

"This has been in place (at Altoona Area) for as long as I can remember," Hatch said, adding students are permitted to bring their cellphones to school. But upon arrival, students must turn their phones off and leave them in their lockers for the entire school day, he said, noting there are provisions in the student code of conduct at all levels that address violations for possession and use during the school day.

Community relations director Paula Foreman said Altoona Area may revisit its cellphone policy at an upcoming Nov. 4 policy committee meeting to discuss the new law. But the district's policy will likely remain unaffected, she said.

"We may revisit that policy just to have a conversation. But at this point, our policy is that they don't have them and it's always been that way," Foreman said.

Tyrone Area

Tyrone Area Superintendent Leslie Estep said her district adopted a "no cellphones during the school day" procedure two years ago.

Under what's currently in the student and parent handbook, all cellphones and other electronic devices are required to be turned off and placed in a student's locker during instructional hours. Tyrone Area students are not permitted to carry unauthorized electronic devices and cellphones on them, but they may retrieve those devices from their lockers at the end of the school day, according to the handbook.

"Because there was discussion at the legislative level at that time, the principals and deans of students decided that they wanted to try moving toward that direction in an effort to be proactive and to help the staff enforce a more consistent rule," Estep said.

"With the passage of the new law, we will likely revisit our procedures to make sure that we have captured all of the aspects into our procedures," she added.

Williamsburg Community

At the Williamsburg Community School District, high school students have been permitted to keep their cellphones with them throughout the school day, but they are not allowed to have them out during class, Superintendent Lisa Murgas said.

"However, this has been a challenge to enforce," Murgas said.

Elementary students, on the other hand, are not permitted to have cellphones, which has proven to be successful at that level, she said, adding district leaders will review the new legislation soon.

"We will also review our current policies and procedures to determine what adjustments may be needed," Murgas said.

Claysburg-Kimmel

Claysburg-Kimmel Superintendent Brian Helsel said his district's current rule, per the 2026-27 student and parent handbook, is that students are not permitted to use a cellphone at any time during the school day other than in the cafeteria during their lunch period.

That includes calling, texting or messaging anyone for any reason, including to arrange an early dismissal, according to the handbook, which states that any unauthorized use outside of lunch is treated as a violation.

Failure to comply results in a discipline referral, with offenses resetting at the start of each new marking period.

The consequence for a first offense results in the student's phone being held in the office until the end of the day. In addition to that, on a second offense, parents are notified and the student receives a half-hour detention. Students are given extended periods of detention for third and subsequent offenses, and parents have to make arrangements to have their child's phone returned, according to the district's current handbook.

To meet the new law, the district will end cellphone use during lunch, determine how phones will be stored securely in each building and set a process for administrator-approved emergency and medical exceptions, Helsel said.

"Updated policy will go to the board of school directors, and families will be notified of the changes before the 2027-28 school year begins," Helsel said.

Bellwood-Antis

Like Claysburg-Kimmel, Bellwood-Antis will also be required to make some changes ahead of next school year, high school Principal Rick Schreier said.

Currently, every classroom has a phone caddy for students to place their phones in, Schreier said, adding students can carry their phones, since the district doesn't currently require students to lock their devices away.

With the new law, district officials will have to decide whether to allow students to keep their phones off and in their possession or require them to keep their devices stored in their lockers, he said.

At the start of the current school year, in anticipation of Act 117 being signed into law, officials reemphasized their expectations regarding cellphones in school, Schreier said.

The high school's staff also restricted its use of cellphones in the media center's study halls, and with that change, student cellphone use was limited to only during lunch in the school's cafeteria, Schreier said.

That adjustment was "a little bit of a battle" in the beginning because students felt they should have the freedom to use their phones during that time, Schreier said.

"But we explained that we're preparing them for this eventual bell-to-bell ban and kind of easing into it," Schreier said. "I think they accepted it pretty well, and I know the teachers this year were very appreciative and said the kids are more locked in. I've even had students tell me they're more locked in without the distraction of their phone being on them."

In Cambria County

For the most part, Central Cambria is already minimizing distractions in the classrooms and limiting student cellphone use during the school day, Superintendent Jason Moore said.

Cambria Heights is in the same boat as Claysburg-Kimmel in that students are not allowed to have their phones in the classroom, but they are permitted to have them at certain times like lunch, Superintendent Ken Kerchenske said.

Moore and Kerchenske said they had yet to receive the state Department of Education's implementation guide for the new legislation. Both administrators expressed support for the new law, emphasizing educational values, student mental health concerns caused by overexposure of social media and the need for effective communication with parents.

"One of the central reasons for this legislation is that social media and phone usage has raised anxiety and other mental health concerns in students," Moore said. "So, kids do need a break from the constant stimulus of these devices."

Regardless of what changes need to be made because of the law, student safety is always going to be a primary concern for Central Cambria and other districts, Moore said, adding he's read some concerns from parents about the new law and how it pertains to school safety issues.

"Obviously, no matter what we do, we're going to look at the students' safety as the forefront and make sure that our kids not only are safe, but they feel safe," Moore said.

Kerchenske said one of the law's provisions is that school districts will have to communicate with parents how they can get in contact with their children in the event of an emergency. At Cambria Heights, parents can do that by calling the main office at each building, he said.

Kerchenske said he graduated from high school in 2000, and at that time, students didn't have cellphones in school. But parents were still able to contact the school if there was an emergency and vice versa, he said.

Like Moore, Kerchenske said he's seen parent groups share their concerns online about student safety in the event of a schoolwide emergency, such as an intruder or something of that nature. Although educators and administrators hope to never find themselves in an active shooter incident, districts have planned protocols and procedures in place and officials want students to follow those guidelines for everybody's safety, Kerchenske said.

"There is no school procedure for an emergency that says everybody get their cellphones out and call somebody. What we want the students to do in that instance is to follow the instructions of their teacher," Kerchenske said.

Related to Moore's point about the rise in mental health concerns among adolescents, Kerchenske said he thinks one of the things that precipitated the new law was Jonathan Haidt's 2024 book, "The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness."

While there are benefits to teenagers having cellphones, Kerchenske said he thinks the book brought to light for parents and the general public that "the dangers of cellphone use and social media outweigh the positives."

AASD agrees

Hatch said he agrees with Moore and Kerchenske, noting he's a firm believer in students not having cellphone access during the school day.

In addition to a distraction to the educational process, the potential for misuse and contributing to conflict and misconduct is heightened by student cellphone use, Hatch said.

"With alarming levels of student screen time and the distraction and potential harm of social media, harmful websites and online content readily available to students, providing them with focused educational time is critical to learning and development," he said.

Hatch said the district provides all of its students a device with security and filters that limit online access and use of social media and other potentially harmful apps, websites and content.

Every classroom in all of the district's schools has a state-of-the-art internet protocol phone that can be used in the event of an emergency.

"In the event of a crisis, it is critical for students and staff to follow protocol and direction, keeping cell lines open for critical safety coordination and communications," Hatch said. "I am a supporter of this legislation and AASD will continue to enforce our existing and compliant policy and procedures."

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.