Seneca Valley School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Seneca Valley School District enrolled 7,491 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It went "bell to bell, no cell" in 2025-26, two years before Act 117's deadline.

Seneca Valley phone rules today

The Butler Eagle reported on August 29, 2025:

• "Bell to bell, no cell" (the high school principal's phrase, per Superintendent Tracy Vitale). Classrooms are phone free from first bell to last, starting in 2025-26.
• Board revision on June 9, 2025, with parents notified later that month.
• Why the change: an earlier policy from about four years before allowed instructional use and use between classes, and phone use did not drop with study hall, lunch, bus and free time still open.
• Buses are still allowed. Phones must be put away for the school day, and staff should not see or hear them.
• Consequences: a first violation sends the phone to the main office until the end of the day, with a parent call. A second adds a policy review with the principal.

Vitale said students were interacting more, and that staff also follow the rule.

What Act 117 requires of Seneca Valley 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	Seneca Valley today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Bell to bell since 2025-26	Little change.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Put away; office holds phones after violations	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 coverage	Check for 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	Revised June 2025	Annual notice and PDE posting verification.

Bus use is allowed in Seneca Valley. Act 117 covers the school day on school property, so whether a district bus ride counts is a question for counsel.

Where LockedIn fits

Seneca Valley's rule depends on staff not seeing or hearing phones. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so a phone that stays in a pocket stays locked.

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 Seneca Valley area

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