Millcreek Township School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Millcreek Township School District, outside Erie, enrolled 6,413 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It already keeps phones in lockers all day in every building.

Millcreek phone rules today

From the MTSD 2025-26 Parent/Guardian and Student Handbook (revised November 18, 2025), citing Policy 237, Use of Electronic Devices:

• "In all school buildings, personal electronic devices are required to be turned off and stored in lockers during the instructional day, i.e. from the start of classes until student dismissal."
• Every student is assigned a locker and a lock.

YourErie has reported on the policy a year after Millcreek began its ban.

What Act 117 requires of Millcreek 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	Millcreek today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Off and in lockers from the start of classes to dismissal, all buildings	Confirm the time before the first class and homeroom are covered.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Lockers	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 in the handbook	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	Handbook and Policy 237 online	Annual notice and PDE posting verification.

Where LockedIn fits

Millcreek's locker rule works when phones make it into lockers. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, covering phones that stay in a pocket, and it runs alongside lockers.

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 the Millcreek area

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