Abington School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Abington School District enrolled 8,400 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its August 2026 phone procedure is one of the few in Pennsylvania to deal with AI smart glasses by name.

Abington phone rules today

Abington's Superintendent's Administrative Procedure, "Electronic Communication Devices," was reissued on August 26, 2026:

• Elementary: personal devices and AI-enabled wearables are powered off and stored in backpacks for the whole school day. Exceptions only for documented health, safety or accessibility needs.
• Middle and high school: on entering an instructional space, students place phones and AI-enabled wearables in designated classroom storage and retrieve them at the end of the period.
• AI smart glasses may not be worn in school. Prescription eyewear must be a non-recording model during instructional time unless there is a documented accommodation.
• Adults too: staff and visitors may not record with AI wearables in student spaces without the superintendent's written authorization.

What Act 117 requires of Abington 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	Abington today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Elementary all day; middle and high school storage during class only	End between-class and lunch access at the middle and high schools.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Backpacks (elementary); classroom storage (secondary)	Extend secondary storage beyond class periods, or choose another method.
Required exceptions: documented medical need of the student or an immediate family member, IEP or 504, English learner translation, limited teacher-approved instructional use	Documented health, safety or accessibility needs	Add English learner translation, a family member's documented medical need and the limited instructional-use exception.
Optional: a principal may approve another exception for up to one school day, with notice to the superintendent within 5 days after	Not stated	Optional one-day principal exception with notice within 5 days.
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	Procedure and board policy posted	Annual notice and PDE posting verification.

Act 117 defines a mobile device as an internet-capable device that can record, message or play video, which likely covers AI glasses. Abington's glasses rule already goes further in one way: it applies during the whole day.

Where LockedIn fits

Abington's secondary schools have students hand phones over and take them back every period. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so it could cover the time between periods and run alongside classroom storage. Smart glasses remain a separate rule.

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 Abington

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