Bensalem Township School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Bensalem Township School District enrolled 6,416 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. We could not find its districtwide phone rule in the published handbook, so this page focuses on Act 117.

Bensalem phone rules today

Bensalem's 2025-26 Student/Parent Handbook (revised August 19, 2025) is online, but we could not find its phone section. Rules we did find are set class by class: one Bensalem High School syllabus bans phones during direct instruction, with a warning, a call home and a possible write-up.

Bensalem Weekly noted that under Act 117, the school board decides how to enforce a bell-to-bell rule.

What Act 117 requires of Bensalem 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	Bensalem today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Not confirmed; some classes ban use during instruction	Adopt a districtwide bell-to-bell policy.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Not confirmed	Choose a possession 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	Not confirmed	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 confirmed	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 confirmed	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 online	Post the policy, announce each year and verify to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, and can run alongside any storage Bensalem chooses.

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 Bensalem

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