Washington School District Cell Phone Policy (2026)

Washington School District in Washington County enrolled 1,471 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. It was among the first districts in the region to use locking pouches.

Washington phone rules today

The Observer-Reporter reported on August 26, 2022 that Washington junior high and high school students store phones in Yondr pouches during school hours, carry the pouches class to class and unlock them at a magnet station at the end of the day. Superintendent George Lammay said, "We're looking to create the best educational environment that we can for our kids, and phones create distractibility." High school teachers had raised concerns with Principal Chet Henderson, who researched Yondr.

"We really want students to understand this is not meant to be punitive or difficult; it's meant to help them keep the main thing the main thing, and that's education," Lammay said.

Emergencies

The district bought mobile devices that can release the locks, and parents can contact the school in a family emergency, the paper reported. The 2025-26 high school handbook, as summarized in search results, still requires phones off and in Yondr pouches on entering school, with lost or broken pouches replaced.

What Act 117 requires of Washington 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	Washington today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	School hours, junior high and high school	Aligned if it covers arrival to dismissal; check elementary.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Yondr pouches	Aligned: Act 117 lets boards decide possession.
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	Parents contact the school	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	Handbook (2025-26)	Board policy posted, announced each year and verified to PDE.

Where LockedIn fits

Washington has run pouches and magnet stations since 2022 and keeps unlocking devices on hand. LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, so there are no pouches to replace, and Emergency Mode unlocks every phone on campus at once, subject to counsel review.

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 Washington

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