Shenango Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Shenango Area School District in Lawrence County enrolled 940 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its 2026-27 handbook follows the state's shape closely.

Shenango Area phone rules today

The 2026-27 Shenango High School handbook says "Shenango has adopted a strict 'bell-to-bell' restriction": phones, smartwatches, headphones, earbuds and tablets must be off and in the student's assigned locker from the morning arrival bell until the final dismissal bell, "explicitly including transition/hallway times and student lunch periods." Headphones are allowed in class only with teacher permission, for school Chromebooks.

Exceptions "in accordance with state guidelines"

The handbook lists three: documented medical conditions such as blood glucose monitoring; IEP or 504 plans that require personal technology; and English learners who need a personal device for real-time translation. Discipline escalates from confiscation to parent pickup and detention, and then to a day of in-school suspension and losing locker storage for nine weeks, after which the phone must be left at home or turned in at the office daily.

What Act 117 requires of Shenango 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	Shenango Area today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Arrival bell to dismissal, lunch included	Aligned with the whole-day rule.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Assigned lockers	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	Medical, IEP/504, English learner translation	Add family member medical.
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	Handbook (2026-27)	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Shenango's handbook already matches most of Act 117. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so students with a medical or translation exception can keep their phone while everyone else's stays locked, alongside the 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 New Castle

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