Restricting students’ use of cellphones is one of Gov. Phil Murphy’s priorities during his last year in office. (Daniella Heminghaus for New Jersey Monitor)
A plan to require school boards to adopt policies aimed at limiting the use of cellphones during school hours marched toward passage in the Legislature Monday.
After hearing nearly an hour of testimony from school leaders and teachers, the Assembly’s education committee advanced a bill Monday that supporters say would give local school officials the flexibility to ban students from using cellphones during critical instruction periods.
Restricting students’ use of cellphones is one of Gov. Phil Murphy’s priorities during his last year in office.
Olga Polites, a former English teacher who now leads the New Jersey chapter of nonprofit Media Literacy Now, said phones became a major distraction in her own classroom, especially after classrooms reopened following pandemic-related shutdowns. She implemented a policy requiring students to put their phones in plastic pouches near the classroom door, and once academic time was over, they’d have access to them.
“At least they could see it and understand, I need your attention for these 57 minutes, but I’m not going to deny you access to it when you want it,” she said.
Bill sponsors Assemblywoman Rosy Bagolie (D-Essex) and Assemblyman Cody Miller (D-Gloucester) visited a Woodbury school where phone restrictions are in place last month. Miller said students told him they couldn’t believe how much they are learning without their phones as a distraction.
“This legislation is critically important, especially as we’ve seen the effects of learning loss for the pandemic, and we know that this will improve educational outcomes for students. It will cut down on cyberbullying, and it’s just good bipartisan policy,” he said.
Under the bill, the state’s education commissioner would develop a policy for K-12 students regarding cellphone and social media use in school, on buses, or during school-sanctioned events. The policy would at a minimum ban the non-academic use of a cell phone or social media during classroom instruction. School boards would be required to adopt their own policies reflecting the state’s policy. The education commissioner could approve waivers for districts that ask to be exempt.
A growing number of states are considering legislation to ban or restrict cellphones in classrooms, citing concerns over students’ mental health and distractions during the school day. The Arkansas governor signed a law last month limiting phone use during the day, California’s law will largely prohibit smartphone use by the 2026-2027 school year, and Ohio required every school district to create and implement official policies on cellphone use.
It’s not a novel idea in New Jersey. Several districts, including some Jersey City schools, require students to lock their phones in pouches at the start of the school day. Cherry Hill Public Schools banned wireless communication devices during classroom periods.
Murphy has proposed spending $3 million to help districts “establish phone-free schools.”
The bill, which was unanimously approved by the Senate in December, was amended Monday to make the requirement for schools to adopt the state more flexible, like permitting students to use their phones in case of an emergency.
Miller noted that teachers would still have access to phones and that students’ phones locked in pouches are still in the classroom in case of emergencies. Most schools also have school resource officers or law enforcement on campus, and students can go to the office to call their parents if they need to reach them, he added.
Republicans on the committee abstained from voting on the bill, citing concerns over the costs of pouches for school districts — roughly $25 per pouch — and parents needing to contact their children. Assemblyman Greg Myhre (R-Ocean) said he’s concerned about enforcement that districts face if they don’t implement a policy, and Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia (R-Sussex) said she believes “in the spirit behind” the bill but won’t support it absent more changes.
“Parents need a little more assurance or reassurance that their child will not be in any kind of danger during an emergency,” she said.
It’s not clear when the full Assembly will take up the bill.
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