Chester-Upland School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Chester-Upland School District in Delaware County enrolled 3,143 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its high school began enforcing an existing phone ban in September 2026.

Chester-Upland phone rules today

An October 1, 2026 letter from Chester High School administration says the cell phone policy has been in effect since September 2, 2026. "While cell phones have been prohibited per CUSD policy, this is the first year that we are taking steps to implement it."

Students turn in phones to their grade-level climate manager or an assigned staff member on arrival. Phones are securely stored and returned at dismissal. Using or possessing any phone during school hours, including another student's, is prohibited, and confiscated phones must be picked up by a parent before 3 p.m. The storage area is staffed, off-limits to students without supervision, and monitored by cameras and random security checks. For urgent matters families call the main office.

Discipline ladder

First offense: a teacher Kickboard referral, confiscation by the climate team and release to parents. Second: the same plus after-school detention. Third: a mandatory parent conference and in-school suspension.

Early results

Citizen Portal's summary of a district meeting, published September 29, 2026, says Principal Brown reported that the policy at both Chester high schools shortened mornings: "we took a process that took an hour and 20 minutes down to 35, 30 minutes in the morning," with staff reporting more engagement.

What Act 117 requires of Chester-Upland 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	Chester-Upland today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Collected on arrival, returned at dismissal	Aligned with the whole-day rule.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Staff-held in a monitored area	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	Not stated	Write in all four required exceptions; held phones must be reachable for medical needs.
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	Families call the main office	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	CUSD policy plus high school letter	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Chester-Upland built a staffed, camera-monitored phone room and a morning check-in. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so the district can keep the whole-day rule while cutting the arrival line, and it can run alongside the storage room as it transitions.

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 Chester

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