School District of Lancaster Cell Phone Policy (2026)

The School District of Lancaster (SDL) enrolled 9,959 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its published rules follow standard Pennsylvania policy language, so the Act 117 changes are the main story.

Lancaster phone rules today

SDL's student handbook, under "Unauthorized Use of Technology and/or Communication Devices":

• Unauthorized use is prohibited during the school day in buildings, on district property, on buses, under district supervision and at school-sponsored activities.
• Authorized areas and times may include before and after school, the cafeteria at lunch, hallways between classes, the bus, and the library or study hall if a teacher allows, with prior permission of supervising staff or as the principal decides.
• Approved use includes principal-approved educational, safety, emergency, medical or security use, or use set by an IEP or 504 team.
• Violations bring discipline and confiscation.

The handbook does not split rules by grade level.

What Act 117 requires of Lancaster 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	Lancaster today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Lunch, hallway and study hall use may be authorized	End all authorized non-instructional use.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Phones stay with students	Choose a 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	Principal-approved medical, educational, IEP/504 use	Add English learner translation and a family member's documented medical need; narrow educational use.
Optional: a principal may approve another exception for up to one school day, with notice to the superintendent within 5 days after	Principal discretion	Cap other exceptions at one school day 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	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	Handbook online	Annual notice and PDE posting verification.

Where LockedIn fits

SDL would be moving from authorized windows to none. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, and can run alongside lockers or backpacks if the board chooses those.

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 Lancaster

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