Governor Mifflin School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Governor Mifflin School District in Berks County enrolled 4,158 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It is one of the districts that adopted a full-day rule before Act 117 was approved.

Governor Mifflin phone rules today

Starting August 24, 2026, Governor Mifflin enforces a "phone-free instructional school day in accordance with GMSD School Board Policy 237 - Electronic Devices." Under the procedures:

• Phones, earbuds, smartglasses, headphones, smartwatches, handheld games and tablets are off or silenced and stored in the student's backpack for the whole day.
• Backpacks sit in a designated place in each classroom; devices may not be in pockets, purses or on the student.
• The rule runs from building entry to dismissal, including study halls, lunch and travel between classes.
• Wired earbuds connected to a school-issued device are allowed for schoolwork.
• Parents call the main office to get a message to their child.
• Students with a medical need contact the principal about accommodations.

Consequences: a warning logged in Skyward; then confiscation until the end of the day with a parent contact; then confiscation with parent pickup, plus lunch detention (K-6) or one day of detention (7-12); chronic offenses add a parent meeting.

What Act 117 requires of Governor Mifflin 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	Governor Mifflin today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Phone free from entry to dismissal, including lunch and passing time	Already matches.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Backpacks in a designated spot in each classroom	Already a possession method; keep it in 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	Medical need through the principal	Add IEP or 504, English learner translation and medical need of an immediate family member.
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	Parents call the main office	Written notice each year and on enrollment of the 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	Procedures posted in the handbook	Amended policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Governor Mifflin's rule already covers the full day with phones in backpacks. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so it can run alongside the backpack rule and replace pocket checks and confiscations as the way the rule is enforced.

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 Shillington

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