Lower Merion School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Lower Merion School District (LMSD) enrolled 8,533 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It is in the middle of rewriting its technology rules, with a first reading of a new Technology Use Policy in June 2026.

Lower Merion phone rules today

LMSD's "Off and Away" approach, as described by Superintendent Dr. Frank Ranelli in a June 24, 2026 letter:

• K-8: no use of personal devices in school buildings during school hours.
• High school: personal devices are turned off and stored in a teacher-designated area during class periods. Students may use them during free periods, Lunch and Learn and between classes, unless a teacher requires classroom storage.
• Technology Use Policy: the board approved a first reading on June 15, 2026. It also sets grade bands for district devices (none for individual students in K-2, limited supervised use in 3-4, classroom devices in 5-6, take-home in 7-12), real-time teacher controls and parent monitoring tools.

What Act 117 requires of Lower Merion 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 Merion today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	K-8 none during school hours; high school free periods, Lunch and Learn and passing time allowed	End high school free-period, Lunch and Learn and passing-time use.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Teacher-designated area during class	Decide how phones are restricted outside class at the high schools.
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	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	Technology Use Policy in progress	Fold Act 117 into the final policy; post and verify to PDE.

Since the Technology Use Policy had only a first reading, LMSD could fold Act 117's requirements into the final version instead of amending again later.

Where LockedIn fits

LMSD already gives teachers real-time control of district devices. LockedIn does the same for students' own phones, locking them from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect. It can run alongside the teacher-designated storage areas.

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 Lower Merion

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