Montrose Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Montrose Area School District in Susquehanna County enrolled 1,225 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It chose not to change its phone rule for 2026-27.

Montrose Area phone rules today

The Susquehanna County Independent reported on September 2, 2026 that Montrose has chosen not to change its student cell phone policy for the 2026-27 school year, as Superintendent Christopher McComb described the district's response to new state requirements. Students may carry phones but may not use them from the first bell to the last without staff permission, including passing periods, bathrooms and locker rooms. Teachers can allow classroom use for schoolwork or to contact a parent, set their own rules and require classroom storage caddies. Use is allowed at breakfast and lunch "as long as students do not abuse the privilege." Elementary students may not access phones during the day.

Consequences

A first violation brings a warning. Repeat violations in a semester can bring lunch or after-school detention. Administrators may confiscate phones, returning them to the student after a first offense and to a parent after later ones.

What Act 117 requires of Montrose Area 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	Montrose Area today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	First to last bell except breakfast and lunch	End breakfast and lunch use.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Carried; classroom caddies at teacher discretion	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	Staff permission, including to contact a parent	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	Teacher may allow for schoolwork	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 (unchanged for 2026-27)	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Montrose leaves classroom rules to each teacher. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so closing breakfast and lunch is a schedule change and the rule is the same in every room.

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 Montrose

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