Southeast Delco School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Southeast Delco School District in Delaware County enrolled 3,855 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It started 2026-27 with a no-phones rule at its high school.

Southeast Delco phone rules today

Academy Park High School told families on August 25, 2026, ahead of the August 31 first day, that "no cell phones are allowed during the school day." An earlier August 6 post carried the school's Cell Phone & Dress Code Policy for 2026-27.

Device management

Citizen Portal's summary of a September 2026 education committee meeting says the committee recommended staff consider a vendor package of about $52,000, with 100 hours of customization, to consolidate laptop and security software, add single-student laptop assignments and parent-approved student email "as the district implements a bell-to-bell cell-phone ban."

What Act 117 requires of Southeast Delco 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	Southeast Delco today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	No phones during the school day at Academy Park (2026-27)	Confirm the rule covers lunch, passing time and all grades.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Not stated in the notice	The policy must say how possession is restricted.
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	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	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	High school notice; board policy text not found	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Southeast Delco is already moving to a bell-to-bell rule and looking at one contract for device management. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so it can sit alongside whatever storage Academy Park uses and give staff one place to manage the rule.

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 Sharon Hill

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