Canon-McMillan School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Canon-McMillan School District in Washington County enrolled 5,480 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its Policy 237 bans personal device use during the school day unless a principal allows it through the handbook, and the handbooks then differ a lot by building.

Canon-McMillan phone rules today

Policy 237 prohibits personal technology devices during the school day in buildings, on property and at school activities unless a principal or school official permits use through the handbook.

Intermediate school (grades 5-6, 2025-26 handbook): phones are off and kept in a coat or backpack in the locker, not in the student's possession, with no use for any reason, including on the bus, field trips and school activities. Students may call home from the main office phone during homeroom, exploratory or lunch. The handbook notes: "There are no locks on school lockers at the intermediate level." Violations mean confiscation and parent pickup.

High school (2025-26 handbook): every classroom has a device caddy. Phones go in the caddy when not used for instruction, or stay on the student if put away. Use is allowed in the cafeteria at lunch, on the bus if the driver permits, at school events, and in study halls and the library if permitted. It is not allowed in classes from 7:40 to 2:40, bathrooms, locker rooms, pool areas, drills, testing, assemblies, detention or in-school suspension. Headphones are not allowed once students enter the building.

Screen time in the news

KDKA Radio reported that Canon-McMillan is pulling back on classroom screen time and that its phone policy could change if the state bill passed.

What Act 117 requires of Canon-McMillan 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	Canon-McMillan today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	5-6 no use all day; HS lunch, bus, events, study hall and library use allowed	End high school lunch, study hall and library use.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Unlocked lockers (5-6); classroom caddies or kept on the student (HS)	Choose one whole-day method; the HS option of keeping phones on the student would need review.
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 the handbook excerpts	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 instructional 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	Office phone for students; parents call the office	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	Policy 237 and building handbooks posted	Amended policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Canon-McMillan already has caddies in every high school classroom and lockers at the intermediate level. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so it runs alongside that storage and covers lunch and study halls, and it does not depend on locks the intermediate lockers do not have.

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 Canonsburg

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