Haverford Township School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

The School District of Haverford Township enrolled 6,511 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. (The Haverford School, a private school, is separate.) Haverford High already has the family contact setup Act 117 asks for.

Haverford phone rules today

From the Haverford High School Student and Family Handbook 2025-26:

• In class: devices are silenced or off and "remain off of a student's person during classroom instruction as directed by their teachers." Teachers may require a designated storage spot.
• Lunch and between classes: the handbook refers to "times that students are permitted to use personal electronic devices (i.e. during lunch or in between classes)."
• Family contact: a phone in the main office is available to students, and families are asked to call the main office (610-853-5900 x2000) instead of texting students.
• Violations can lead to confiscation.

The handbook ties the rule to Board Policy 815 and the district's social and emotional wellness focus. Middle and elementary rules were not found.

What Act 117 requires of Haverford 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	Haverford today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Lunch and between-class use allowed at the high school	End lunch and passing-time use.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Off the student's person in class; teacher storage	Extend restriction to the whole 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 stated	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	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 line published for families	Already in place. Add emergency sign-up and send it each year and on enrollment.
Tell families, teachers and students about the policy each year; verify to PDE within 5 business days that it is posted online	Handbook	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Haverford High already routes family contact through the office. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so lunch and passing time could be covered without new storage.

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 Haverford

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