Lower Dauphin School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Lower Dauphin School District in Dauphin County enrolled 3,352 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its high school ended teacher-by-teacher phone rules in 2026-27.

Lower Dauphin phone rules today

The Sun reported on May 20, 2026, under the headline "Phones Allowed, For Now," that the board gave first-reading approval on May 18 to a revised Policy 237, Personal Electronic Devices, first adopted in June 2025.

The high school's 2026-27 update says, "In previous years, classroom cell phone use was largely left to individual teacher discretion." Now every classroom follows Policy 237. Devices are allowed before school, during passing time, at lunch and in administratively assigned study halls. During instruction, phones, smartwatches, personal tablets and laptops, e-readers, gaming devices and tech-integrated eyewear stay away and out of sight unless a teacher authorizes them, and teachers may require a designated storage spot.

Getting ahead of the state

The update cites a House bill on bell-to-bell rules from 2027-28 and says that "by establishing consistent expectations now, Lower Dauphin High School is taking a proactive approach."

What Act 117 requires of Lower Dauphin 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	Lower Dauphin today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Away in class; use at lunch, passing and study halls	End lunch, passing time and study hall use.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Away and out of sight; teacher may set storage	State a whole-day 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	Not stated in the update	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	Teacher authorization for 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	Revised Policy 237 (first reading May 18, 2026)	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Lower Dauphin has made class rules consistent and now has to extend them through lunch and passing time. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so the whole day locks on one schedule, alongside any classroom storage teachers use.

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 Hummelstown

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