Southern Lehigh School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Southern Lehigh School District in Lehigh County enrolled 3,063 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its high school began strictly enforcing rules that were already on the books.

Southern Lehigh phone rules today

The Spotlight, the high school's student paper, reported on November 22, 2025 that students must put phones in caddies at the start of each class period, during the Spartan activity period and in homeroom. Phones are also restricted in hallways, bathrooms and the nurse's, counseling and main offices.

Lehigh Daily reported on October 20, 2026 that Southern Lehigh bars phone use all day through middle school but lets high schoolers use phones outside class, such as at lunch or between classes. The 2026-27 elementary handbook bars phones and calling or texting watches during school hours, with phones zipped inside a backpack.

What the principal says

Principal Joshua Miller told The Spotlight that most of the rules were already in place but not consistently enforced. "Students are taking more time at lunch to actually be social and have conversations at tables and not be on their phones," he said, and he has seen "an uptick in student work completion."

What Act 117 requires of Southern Lehigh 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	Southern Lehigh today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	K-8 all day; HS caddies in class and homeroom	End high school lunch use.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Classroom caddies; elementary backpacks	State a whole-day method for high school.
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	Elementary: contact home through the nurse	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	Policy 237 and handbooks	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Southern Lehigh already collects phones every period. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so the caddy routine at each bell is no longer needed and lunch can be locked too, alongside the caddies during a transition.

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 Center Valley

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