School District of the City of York Cell Phone Policy (2026)

The School District of the City of York enrolled 6,341 students in 2024-25 according to federal data. Its board discussed revising the phone policy in August 2026.

York City phone rules today

York City's personal device rule is Policy 237.1, Electronic Devices (Personal), on BoardDocs. Search summaries describe standard Pennsylvania template language: use allowed for authorized educational purposes and before and after school, at lunch, in hallways between classes, on buses when authorized and in approved library or study hall time, with confiscation until a parent conference. We could not open the policy page to confirm this.

A summary of the board's August 19, 2026 meeting says members discussed revising the cell phone policy in light of state legislation.

What Act 117 requires of York City 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	York City today	What changes by 2027-28
No student use for the whole school day, including homeroom, lunch, recess and passing time	Lunch, hallway and study hall use reportedly allowed	End all non-instructional use.
The board decides how possession is restricted (taking phones is not required)	Not confirmed	Choose a 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	Educational use reportedly allowed	Write in all four required exceptions; teacher use must meet Act 117's three conditions.
Optional: a principal may approve another exception for up to one school day, with notice to the superintendent within 5 days after	Not confirmed	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 confirmed	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 237.1 on BoardDocs	Annual notice and PDE posting verification.

Where LockedIn fits

LockedIn locks students' own phones from an admin dashboard with nothing to collect, and can run alongside any storage York City adopts in its revision.

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 York

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