Phones off all day: board adopts bell-to-bell device ban

What happened

On August 18, 2026 the board adopted Policy 5516, which bars students from using personal internet-enabled devices anywhere on school grounds during the school day. Phones, tablets, smartwatches and smart glasses must stay off, and schools may require them to be locked in a storage system that only the student can open. Class time has to be entirely free of personal devices, and teachers may no longer build students' own phones into lessons. School-issued laptops and district platforms are still used for schoolwork.

Why it matters to families

This changes the ordinary school day for every Princeton student in all six schools, and for families who are used to texting their child between classes or at lunch. It also shifts how teachers run lessons, because anything digital now has to happen on a district device.

The evidence

Policy 5516 sets the rule under New Jersey's bell-to-bell law, N.J.S.A. 18A:36-40b, defines bell-to-bell as covering passing time and lunch, and lists the exceptions, including accommodations written into a student's individualised education programme. The approved August 18, 2026 minutes record the board's second reading and adoption of the policy, along with a new policy on district-issued devices and the repeal of the old privately-owned-technology policy.

The source