Carlisle Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Carlisle Area School District in Cumberland County enrolled 5,180 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It tightened its high school rule in 2025, and the change made regional news.

Carlisle phone rules today

Policy 237, Electronic Devices was adopted in 2006 and last revised July 24, 2025. It says personal devices are not permitted to be in students' possession, used in the academic setting, or used in a way that interferes with learning. Administration sets rules for each level (elementary, middle and high).

The policy lists exceptions: teacher-supervised educational use, including under an IEP or 504 plan; silent use in non-academic settings during the school day; emergency, medical or specialized use approved by the principal or an IEP or 504 team; field trips and activities; and members of a volunteer fire company, ambulance or rescue squad. Devices are banned in locker rooms, bathrooms and health suites at all times.

The 2025 high school change

PennLive (July 2025) and FOX43 reported that Carlisle High School would require phones to be silenced and stored in academic settings, including classrooms, labs, shops and study halls, while allowing use before school, in passing periods, at lunch, after dismissal and in hallways. Elementary and middle schools were described as already near a total ban.

What Act 117 requires of Carlisle 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	Carlisle today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Silent use allowed in non-academic settings; HS lunch, hallway and passing use	Remove the non-academic silent use exception.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Not in possession in the academic setting; stored in class	Choose a whole-day method; academic-setting storage does not cover lunch and hallways.
Required exceptions: documented medical need of the student or an immediate family member, IEP or 504, English learner translation, limited teacher-approved instructional use	IEP and 504 use; emergency and medical use with approval	Add English learner translation and medical need of an immediate family member; check wording.
Optional: a principal may approve another exception for up to one school day, with notice to the superintendent within 5 days after	Teacher-supervised 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	Policy posted (revised July 2025)	Amended policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Carlisle already took phones out of high school classrooms and study halls. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so it runs alongside that storage and extends the rule to lunch and the hallways without a second collection point.

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 Carlisle

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