Warrior Run School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Warrior Run School District in Northumberland County enrolled 1,376 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its rule has changed every year for four years.

Warrior Run phone rules today

The Warrior Run High School handbook says: "Cell phones, smart watches, and other personal electronic devices such as Air pods are not permitted for student use during the school day." "This year we changed the policy to be stricter, and students can't have phones at all," Director of Curriculum Casey Magargle told The Panther Press, Milton High School's student paper. He said the policy has changed every year for the last four years with feedback from parents, teachers and students. "Overall, the feedback has been fairly positive. Kids are talking to each other more and building more connections with each other."

Consequences

A first offense means the device is confiscated and returned at the end of the day. A second requires a parent to pick it up and brings an after-school detention. Further offenses bring progressive discipline and loss of privileges, "including a 30 day phone suspension," according to the handbook.

What Act 117 requires of Warrior Run 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	Warrior Run today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	No use during the school day	Aligned with the whole-day rule.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Not stated	State the 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 stated	Add medical, IEP/504 and English learner translation.
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	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	Senior high handbook (2025-26)	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Warrior Run's rule works through confiscation and suspensions. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so the rule holds without staff taking phones to the office.

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 Turbotville

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