Spring-Ford Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Spring-Ford Area School District enrolled 8,101 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. We found little current, district-level phone policy information, so this page focuses on Act 117.

Spring-Ford phone rules today

The only Spring-Ford rule we could confirm is in the 8th Grade Center guidelines (2023-24 folder), which say phones are not permitted during the school day and that a student who texts a parent should be sent to the nurse. We did not find a current board policy, high school rule or 2026-27 handbook text.

What Act 117 requires of Spring-Ford 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	Spring-Ford today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	8th Grade Center: no phones during the school day (2023-24). Other schools not found	Adopt a districtwide bell-to-bell policy.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Not found	Choose a possession method.
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 found	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 found	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	Nurse handles parent contact at the 8th Grade Center	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	Not found	Post, announce each year and verify to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, and can run alongside any storage method Spring-Ford chooses.

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 Spring-Ford area

Act 117's definition of "school entity" includes private schools, approved private schools and nonpublic schools, so the Spring-Ford 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.