Central Bucks School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Central Bucks School District (CBSD) is Pennsylvania's third-largest district, with 16,941 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its high schools keep phones out of class but allow them at lunch and between periods, which is exactly the time Act 117 takes away.

Central Bucks phone rules today

Central Bucks' high school rules are published school by school:

• In class: at Central Bucks High School West, phones go in classroom cell phone pockets or classroom lockers during class. Earbuds are not allowed in class.
• Lunch and passing time: students may use phones between classes and during Lunch and Learn. The CB South 2025-26 handbook describes the same approach.
• Emergencies: students use designated school phones or ask a teacher for access to their phone.
• Consequences: CB West lists a one-hour detention, then two hours, then a three-hour Saturday detention.

We could not confirm the board policy number behind these rules from CBSD's policy page.

What Act 117 requires of Central Bucks 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	Central Bucks today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	High school: no use in class; use allowed at lunch, Lunch and Learn and between classes	End lunch and passing-time use at the high schools. This is the biggest change for CBSD.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Classroom pockets or lockers during class	Decide where phones go for the rest of the day, such as lockers, backpacks or another method.
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 published school pages	Write in all four required exceptions, including English learner translation and a family member's documented medical need.
Optional: a principal may approve another exception for up to one school day, with notice to the superintendent within 5 days after	Not stated	Optional. If used, cap at one school day and report to the superintendent within 5 days.
Written notice each year and on enrollment: a staffed way to reach your child, and how to sign up for emergency notifications	Designated school phones for emergencies	Put the staffed contact method and emergency sign-up in a written notice each year and on enrollment.
Tell families, teachers and students about the policy each year; verify to PDE within 5 business days that it is posted online	Rules published on each school's site	Adopt one board policy, post it, tell families each year and verify the posting to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

CBSD's classroom pockets keep phones out of hands only during class. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so it could cover lunch and passing time without adding a new collection point. Where CBSD keeps pockets or lockers, LockedIn can run alongside that storage.

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 Central Bucks

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