Bethel Park School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Bethel Park School District in Allegheny County enrolled 4,019 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It updated its Personal Device Guidelines for 2025-26.

Bethel Park phone rules today

Bethel Park's updated Personal Device Guidelines, as reported by the high school's Hawk Eye on August 20, 2025:

• K-6: devices off and in lockers during school hours, used only with staff approval for lessons or activities.
• 7-8: devices off and stored in classroom sleeves during class; allowed at lunch if used responsibly.
• 9-12: no class use unless a teacher allows it for educational purposes; devices stored in classroom sleeves; allowed in hallways between classes and at lunch.

How it went

A September 2025 TV report on Yahoo News described Bethel Park High School students placing phones in pouches on the wall during class. "There is a time and place students need to have access to cellphones," Joe Villani said. "One of those times they don't is when they are supposed to be focused on instructional goals." He said the district braced for pushback but the response was largely positive. "There's a lot more conversation," senior Caleb Bush said.

What Act 117 requires of Bethel Park 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	Bethel Park today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	7-12 lunch use; 9-12 hallway use	End middle and high school lunch and hallway use.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Lockers (K-6); classroom sleeves (7-12)	Choose a whole-day method; sleeves cover class time only.
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	Teacher-approved educational use	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	Guidelines on the district website	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Bethel Park's wall sleeves already cover class time, and students reported talking more. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so it runs alongside the sleeves and extends the same effect to lunch and the hallways.

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 Bethel Park

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