Monessen City School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Monessen City School District in Westmoreland County enrolled 653 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It went phone-free with Yondr pouches in 2024.

Monessen phone rules today

TribLive reported on September 6, 2024 that Monessen started using lockable pouches at the end of the 2023-24 school year, at a cost of about $13,000, Superintendent Robert Motte said. Students turn phones over at the start of each day and get them back before dismissal, with accommodations for students leaving early or attending Forbes Road Career & Technology Center. In February 2026 Motte told the Mon Valley Independent: "We use Yondr bags. We are a phone-free learning environment." He added: "Enforcement wasn't that bad. Students adapted well. The parents were very supportive too. We have minimal problems."

What Act 117 requires of Monessen 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	Monessen today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Start of day to dismissal	Aligned with the whole-day rule.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Yondr pouches	Aligned: Act 117 lets boards decide possession.
Required exceptions: documented medical need of the student or an immediate family member, IEP or 504, English learner translation, limited teacher-approved instructional use	Early dismissal and career center accommodations	Add medical, IEP/504 and English learner translation.
Optional: a principal may approve another exception for up to one school day, with notice to the superintendent within 5 days after	Not stated	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	District policy	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Monessen already runs a full phone-free day. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so students leaving early for the career center can be unlocked from the dashboard, with no pouches to replace.

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 Monessen

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