Phone rule to be enforced more strictly in every school this year

What happened

In his August 31, 2026 back-to-school message the superintendent said that in line with New Jersey law students will not be permitted to use cell phones at any point in the school day, and that while the rule has been in place for some years the district would focus on stricter enforcement in 2026-27 across all nine schools. Families were asked to talk to their children about it before school started.

Why it matters to families

Until now the locked-pouch system applied only at the high school. This extends strict enforcement to the middle schools and elementary schools, so the rule changes for younger children too.

The evidence

The August 31, 2026 video message states: 'In accordance with the New Jersey state law, students will not be permitted to use their cell phones throughout the school day... While this policy has been in effect for the past few years, we will be focusing our efforts on stricter enforcement of the rule this year.' The district's published Policy 5516 has not been updated to match; the policy portal records it as created and last edited in February 2017.

The source