Chartiers Valley School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Chartiers Valley School District in Allegheny County enrolled 3,501 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. TribLive reported it rolled out an "age-appropriate" personal electronic device policy.

Chartiers Valley phone rules today

TribLive reported in 2026 that Chartiers Valley rolled out an "age-appropriate" personal electronic device policy. As summarized in search results, primary school devices are silenced in backpacks, intermediate and middle school devices go in lockers, and high school devices go in classroom organizers during class.

The earlier rule, as summarized, barred phones, smartwatches and listening devices for elementary students during school hours, barred middle school use except for imminent danger or administrator approval, and allowed high school use before and after school and at lunch.

What Act 117 requires of Chartiers Valley 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	Chartiers Valley today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	By grade; HS classroom organizers during class	End any lunch or passing time use.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Backpacks, lockers and organizers by level	Aligned on method if all-day.
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	Write in all four required exceptions.
Optional: a principal may approve another exception for up to one school day, with notice to the superintendent within 5 days after	MS administrator authorization	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 confirmed	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 text not found	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Chartiers Valley sets a different method at each level. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so the high school can keep the day locked outside class periods too, alongside the lockers and organizers it already uses.

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 Bridgeville

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