Slippery Rock Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Slippery Rock Area School District in Butler County enrolled 1,858 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It went bell to bell at the start of 2025-26.

Slippery Rock Area phone rules today

The Butler Eagle reported on March 25, 2025 that the high school replaced classroom phone holders and lunch use with a rule that students store phones in their lockers for the entire day unless given explicit permission, covering smart watches, wireless earbuds, headphones and other communication devices. When board member Greg Schiller raised parents' ability to reach students, Principal Cory Hake described a "phone zone" or "communication station": "if they need to communicate with somebody at home, we want them to be able to do that."

A first offense means the device is held until the end of the day, a second requires parent pickup and a third is treated as insubordination.

Early results

In October 2025, Assistant Principal Jesse Pattison told a committee, "we've had 47 first offenses, but we've only had nine second offenses. To date, we've not had any third offenses." He added that during a tar fire evacuation on September 19, 12 students were caught recording: "Students weren't paying attention because they were on their phone. So, it was a great argument as to it actually improved school safety." In August 2026 Superintendent Alfonso Angelucci said there was "a significant reduction in negative behaviors related to cellphones, including cyberbullying and peer conflict."

What Act 117 requires of Slippery Rock 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	Slippery Rock Area today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Lockers all day unless permitted	Aligned with the whole-day rule.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	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 case by case	Write in 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	Explicit permission	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	Phone zone for contacting home	Written notice each year and on enrollment of a staffed contact method and emergency sign-up. A staffed office line fits the bill better than a student phone zone.
Tell families, teachers and students about the policy each year; verify to PDE within 5 business days that it is posted online	HS handbook (2025-26)	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Slippery Rock's evacuation showed phones out at the wrong moment. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so phones stay locked during a drill or incident unless the school chooses Emergency Mode, which unlocks every phone at once, subject to counsel review.

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 Slippery Rock

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