Radnor Township School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Radnor Township School District in Delaware County enrolled 3,598 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its high school went phone free in September 2025 without pouches or lockers.

Radnor phone rules today

Starting September 2, 2025, Radnor High School's Off and Away initiative requires phones to be powered off and put away from 8:30 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. "Away" means the phone can stay with the student, in a backpack or pocket, but may not be used, visible or accessed during the school day. It must be powered completely off, not just silenced or in airplane mode, and may not be used in class, in hallways or at lunch without permission.

The high school rule builds on a similar initiative at Radnor Middle School, where the 2025-26 handbook keeps devices off and in lockers. Elementary devices are off and out of sight. The PA Unplugged tracker lists Radnor as off and away since 2025-26.

How Radnor built it

The FAQ says the rule grew out of national research, high school staff surveys and parent and student focus groups held in 2024-25, and cites Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation. A student with an urgent need may ask to use a phone in a designated space in the building.

What Act 117 requires of Radnor 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	Radnor today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Off 8:30 to 3:10, including lunch and hallways	Largely aligned; confirm the policy text matches the FAQ.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Kept on the student, powered completely off	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	IEP and 504 accommodations	Add English learner translation and a student's or immediate family member's medical need.
Optional: a principal may approve another exception for up to one school day, with notice to the superintendent within 5 days after	Use 'without permission' barred; designated space for urgent needs	Teacher use must meet Act 117's three conditions; other exceptions capped at one day. The urgent-use room needs counsel review.
Written notice each year and on enrollment: a staffed way to reach your child, and how to sign up for emergency notifications	Not stated in the FAQ	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	High school FAQ; Digital Wellness page	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Radnor already trusts students to keep phones off in their pockets. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so staff can see the day is locked instead of checking that every phone is powered down, and the designated-space requests can be handled from the dashboard.

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 Wayne

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