Tredyffrin/Easttown School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Tredyffrin/Easttown School District (T/E) enrolled 6,856 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Conestoga High School allows phones in a long list of common spaces, and Act 117 closes all of them.

T/E phone rules today

From Conestoga High School's 2025-26 Code of Conduct:

• Instructional time: no phones or devices unless a teacher permits.
• Common spaces: "During the school day, students MAY ONLY use muted cell phones or other electronic devices... in the following locations: lobbies, hallways, cafeteria, library, atrium and courtyards."
• Calls are allowed only from an administrative office, Student Services, the nurse's office or the Main Office, unless a student has permission.
• Restrooms and locker rooms: phones must not be readily accessible.
• Teacher storage: teachers may require phones in classroom spaces, backpacks or lockers.

The district's other school handbooks (including Tredyffrin/Easttown Middle School) and its 1:1 device letters were not reviewed in full for this page.

What Act 117 requires of T/E 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	T/E today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Conestoga: muted use in hallways, cafeteria, library, atrium, courtyards	End all common-space use.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Teacher may require classroom, backpack or locker storage	Set one method for the whole day.
Required exceptions: documented medical need of the student or an immediate family member, IEP or 504, English learner translation, limited teacher-approved instructional use	Teacher permission	Teacher use must meet Act 117's three conditions; add medical, IEP/504 and English learner 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	Code of Conduct online	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Conestoga's open common areas would be the hardest part for T/E to change by hand. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so hallways and the cafeteria are covered the same as classrooms.

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 T/E area

Act 117's definition of "school entity" includes private schools, approved private schools and nonpublic schools, so the T/E 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.