Carlynton School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Carlynton School District in Allegheny County enrolled 1,357 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its 2025 rule drew statewide coverage.

Carlynton phone rules today

WESA reported on November 4, 2025 that Carlynton Junior-Senior High School students in grades 7 through 12 lock phones in Yondr pouches at the start of the day; the pouches open only after the final bell, lunch included. The district paid for the pouches with a state grant. Students with medical needs, such as diabetics who monitor blood sugar on their phones, get pouches that do not lock. At lunch, the school added card games, couches and a PlayStation.

"You could almost hear a pin drop because no one was communicating," Assistant Superintendent Jeff Taylor said of lunch the year before. "Now they're like looking at each other... And that's part of that 'hidden curriculum' we want."

Students and parents

Senior Isaiah Wall said students should have phones at lunch, but added, "I've even found, within myself, connecting with peers that I haven't spoken to in a very long time." Taylor said most parent criticism was about safety, and that after consulting several law enforcement agencies the district concluded phones in class could raise security risks. Assistant Principal Joe Rosi said fire drills went faster. The policy was announced a week before school, and students had a few days with unlocked pouches first.

What Act 117 requires of Carlynton 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	Carlynton today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Start of day to final bell, grades 7-12	Aligned with the whole-day rule.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Yondr pouches	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	Medical: unlocked pouch	Add family 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	Bell-to-bell policy (2025)	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Carlynton runs pouches and gives medical students unlocked ones. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so an exception is a setting rather than a different pouch, 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 Carnegie

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