Chambersburg Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026-27)

Chambersburg Area School District enrolled 9,429 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. In July 2026 it announced a bell-to-bell rule for grades 6-12, including lunch.

Chambersburg phone rules today

The district's July 8, 2026 announcement for grades 6-12:

• No access to personal phones or communication devices from the start of the first class block until the end of the school day, including lunch.
• No calling home on a personal phone, even when sick. Students go to the nurse with a teacher pass.
• Family contact goes through school offices: CAMS North 717-261-3366, CAMS South 717-261-3385, and for high school parents, email or the CASHS office at 717-261-3322.
• A Level 1 offense. Violations bring verbal redirection, parent notification or detention.

The district's message cited the "great rewiring of childhood." Elementary schools follow a separate matrix.

What Act 117 requires of Chambersburg 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	Chambersburg today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Grades 6-12: no access from first block to end of day, including lunch	Confirm homeroom and time before first block are covered, and that elementary rules match.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Storage method not confirmed	Write the method into the policy.
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 confirmed	Check for all four required exceptions, including 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	Optional one-day principal exception with notice 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	School office numbers published	Already mostly in place. Add emergency sign-up and send it 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	District announcement	Board-adopted policy, posted and verified to PDE.

Chambersburg's rule that students may not call home on their own phone when sick fits the bill. Its required exceptions are tied to documented medical conditions, not general illness, and it requires a staffed office line instead.

Where LockedIn fits

Chambersburg already has the rule; the work is keeping phones out of reach. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, and can run alongside lockers or bags.

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 Chambersburg area

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