Brownsville Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Brownsville Area School District in Fayette County enrolled 1,403 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It started locking phones in the spring of 2025.

Brownsville Area phone rules today

CBS Pittsburgh reported on August 8, 2025 that Brownsville Area banned wearable technology for the last nine weeks of 2024-25. Middle and high school students lock phones, earbuds and other electronics in a pouch on arrival, and bags go through an X-ray scanner. "If they try to sneak a phone through that they didn't put in a pouch, then it shows up," director of security Alec Hamilton said. The district bought 800 pouches for grades 6 through 12. Students unlock them at a magnet by the security entrance when they leave.

"These children, this is an appendage, like, it's like an arm," Superintendent Kristin Frey-Martin said. "Classroom engagement has gone up. Student interaction, teacher-student interaction."

Emergencies and tampering

Students keep the pouches with them all day. "The pouches, they are able to be cut open. So in the event that we had to relocate, or we were housed in a classroom, we would simply cut those pouches open so students would have access," Frey-Martin said. Families face a fine if a pouch is destroyed or tampered with. Citizen Portal reported that officials told the board on April 16 that the first week was "a game changer" and set a Zoom Q&A with a Yondr representative for parents.

What Act 117 requires of Brownsville Area 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	Brownsville Area today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Arrival to dismissal, grades 6-12	Aligned with the whole-day rule; check elementary.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Yondr pouches; X-ray at entry	Aligned: Act 117 lets boards decide possession.
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	Add medical, IEP/504 and English learner translation.
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	Wearable technology ban (2025)	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Brownsville's emergency plan is to cut pouches open one by one. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so there are no pouches to cut, replace or fine families for, and Emergency Mode unlocks every phone on campus at once, subject to counsel review.

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 Brownsville

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