Phones off and stored all day under the new device rules

What happened

On August 20, 2026 the board gave a first reading to a revised Policy and a new Regulation 5516, Student Use of Internet-Enabled Devices, and abolished the old policy on privately owned technology. The rules prohibit students from using an internet-enabled device on school grounds during the school day; a device brought to school must stay off and may have to be locked in a district storage system that only the student's own password opens. The district piloted cellphone restrictions during the 2025-26 school year ahead of New Jersey's statewide bell-to-bell requirement, and the superintendent reported on September 10, 2026 that students were handling the restrictions well.

Why it matters to families

This changes the school day for every student in the district and for parents used to reaching their child by text. The district told families in July it would spell out its expectations and the consequences for breaking them, and asked parents to go through those expectations with their children before school started. The rules have to appear in student handbooks, so families should be able to see exactly how storage and discipline work at their own school.

The evidence

The August 20, 2026 approved minutes record the first of two readings of Policy and Regulation 5516, Student Use of Internet-Enabled Devices, as revised, and the abolition of Policy 2363, and carry the full policy text prohibiting device use on school grounds during the school day and setting out the storage requirement. The July 23, 2026 minutes record the state's bell-to-bell guidance and the district's prior-year pilot; the September 10, 2026 minutes record the board still discussing the wording and the superintendent's report on how the restrictions were going.

The source