Harrisburg School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Harrisburg School District enrolled 6,578 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It bans phone use during school hours and has bought Yondr pouches for part of the district.

Harrisburg phone rules today

From the district's 2025-26 back-to-school information, citing Policy 237:

• No use during school hours, including instructional time. Violations bring discipline and may mean confiscation.
• Off and stored in a backpack, purse, locker or designated location.
• Headphones only in class with teacher permission, and never in hallways.
• Calls go through the main office.
• Camp Curtin Academy also follows Yondr "Phone Free Spaces" guidelines.

In September 2024, WGAL reported that the state-appointed receiver approved a $47,591 purchase of Yondr pouches for a pilot at John Harris High School.

What Act 117 requires of Harrisburg 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	Harrisburg today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	No use during school hours	No change in scope.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Backpack, purse, locker or Yondr at Camp Curtin	No change needed.
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, 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	Main office phone	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	Back-to-school notice	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Harrisburg uses Yondr in some buildings and bags or lockers in others. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so it could give every building the same rule without buying pouches. It can also run alongside Yondr where pouches are in place.

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 Harrisburg

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