State College Area School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

State College Area School District enrolled 6,799 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. At State College Area High School, the administration sets a phone procedure under the board's policy.

State College phone rules today

State High's student paper, the Lions' Digest, reported in fall 2025:

• The procedure is set by the school. The board sets policy, and the high school administration writes the phone procedure.
• Instructional time, including study halls: phones must be away.
• Photos of others without consent are not allowed.
• Pouches are being added gradually in some areas, including the testing and learning centers.

The principal said she thinks "it's important for them to have their phone" and that the goal is teaching students to use it well. Students may use phones at lunch and between classes.

What Act 117 requires of State College 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	State College today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Away during instructional time and study hall; lunch and transitions allowed	End lunch and transition use.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Away; pouches in some areas	Set a whole-day 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 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	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	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	School procedure	Put the rule in a board policy, post it and verify to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

State High is adding pouches room by room. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, which could cover the whole building without buying more pouches. It can run alongside the ones in use.

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 State College area

Act 117's definition of "school entity" includes private schools, approved private schools and nonpublic schools, so the State College 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.