Freeport Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Freeport Area School District, which straddles the Butler and Armstrong county line, enrolled 1,755 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It was early to restrict phones.

Freeport Area phone rules today

The Butler Eagle reported on August 12, 2026 that Freeport Area "beat most other school districts to the punch" with a policy, last revised in June 2022, that prohibits use of any electronic device on school grounds during the instruction day except during lunch, or under special circumstances. "We have had our ban in place for a number of years now," Superintendent Ian Magness said. "Our students have been very responsible to date and we deal with violations as they arise."

What Act 117 requires of Freeport Area 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	Freeport Area today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	No use during the instructional day except lunch	End lunch use.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Not stated	State the possession 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	Emergencies, IEP/504, teacher-supervised use	Add family medical and 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	Teacher-supervised instruction	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 stated	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 237 (rev. June 2022)	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Freeport's ban already runs most of the day. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so closing the lunch window is a schedule change rather than a new enforcement job.

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 Freeport

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