Twin Valley School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Twin Valley School District in Berks County enrolled 2,912 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It is taking phone limits "one step at a time."

Twin Valley phone rules today

Citizen Portal reported on July 20, 2026 that after a long discussion the board directed staff to put a scaffolded cell-phone approach, with different expectations by grade level, in the student handbook, and voted to restrict phone use at lunch for grades 7 and 8 while keeping instructional and IEP and medical exceptions. Staff presented a nine-page recommendation: "The recommendation is a scaffolded approach to think about where we currently are and where we might end up going and taking one step at a time."

The district's Policy 237, last revised in 2018, allows personal devices unless administrators prohibit them and bars use in locker rooms, bathrooms and changing areas.

What Act 117 requires of Twin Valley 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	Twin Valley today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Rules vary by grade; grades 7-8 no lunch use	High school lunch and passing time use must end.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Set by grade in the handbook	State 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	IEP and medical exceptions kept	Add 504 plans, English learner translation and an immediate family member's medical need.
Optional: a principal may approve another exception for up to one school day, with notice to the superintendent within 5 days after	Instructional exceptions kept	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	Communications to families planned	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 (2018) plus 2026 handbook	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Twin Valley plans to tighten rules step by step. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so each step is a schedule change by grade rather than new storage, and it runs alongside whatever storage each building uses.

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 Elverson

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