Central Dauphin School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Central Dauphin School District enrolled 12,517 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its 2025-26 Code of Conduct already requires phones to be "off and away" for the entire school day, so most of Act 117 is in place.

Central Dauphin phone rules today

Central Dauphin's rule comes from Board Policy 237 and the 2025-26 Student Code of Conduct, approved by the board on August 26, 2025:

• Off and away all day. Students may possess devices but must keep them "off and away" during the entirety of the school day. Use is prohibited in buildings, on district property, on buses and while under district supervision.
• Covered devices include smartwatches, smart glasses, earbuds and headphones.
• Principal-approved exceptions: health, safety or emergency reasons, including documented medical needs; an IEP or 504 plan; English learner translation if Chromebooks or district devices are unavailable; classroom activities with teacher supervision and principal approval; and "other reasons" the principal deems appropriate.
• Consequences include warnings, parent conferences, detention, suspension and confiscation.

What Act 117 requires of Central Dauphin 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 Dauphin today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Off and away for the entirety of the school day	No change in scope.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Students keep phones off and away	No change needed.
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, IEP/504, EL translation only without a Chromebook, supervised class use	Make the EL translation exception unconditional, add a family member's documented medical need, and add Act 117's three limits on instructional use.
Optional: a principal may approve another exception for up to one school day, with notice to the superintendent within 5 days after	Principal may approve for "other reasons"	Cap other exceptions at one school day with notice 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	Not stated in the Code	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	Code of Conduct posted	Annual notice and PDE posting verification.

Where LockedIn fits

Central Dauphin relies on students keeping phones off and away, enforced through discipline. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so it can back up that rule without adding 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 the Central Dauphin area

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