New Jersey governor expected to sign bill restricting student cellphone use

The Garden State is poised to join the growing list of states restricting or banning cellphones in public-school classrooms.

“Many of New Jersey’s approximately 600 public school districts already restrict cellphone use in classrooms, but the policies and punishments vary,” NJ Advance Media noted of a recent bill, S3695, making such guidelines a requirement for every school.

“Under the bill, the state Department of Education would develop guidelines to help local boards of education develop their own policies for public school students’ use of internet-enabled devices, including cellphones, during the school day.” 

The bill, unanimously approved by the state Senate on Dec. 22, awaits the approval of Gov. Phil Murphy, who has “long supported a bell-to-bell cellphone ban in classrooms” and will leave office Jan. 20, according to the news outlet. 

“The goal of this bill is to ensure that students are fully engaged in learning while they are in the classroom,” said Assemblywoman Rosy Bagolie, D-Essex, a sponsor of the bill. “While internet-enabled devices such as smart phones and tablets can be useful tools, the rise of social media has unfortunately caused significant harm to our learning environments.” 

In October, Murphy announced the state would be spending approximately $980,000 as part of its Phone-Free Schools Grant Program, which helps districts implement cellphone restrictions in schools. 

“If we want to provide New Jersey’s children with a world-class education, we need to give schools the tools necessary to remove the very distractions that rob students of their attention and their concentration,” Murphy said at the time. 

‘A major problem in the classroom’ 

As previously reported by The Lion, other states recently considering uniform cellphone policies in public education include Pennsylvania. 

“Children are struggling emotionally, socially and academically,” said Republican Sen. Devlin Robinson, who is sponsoring a bill requiring “all-day cellphone-free policies” in classrooms. “The data is clear: smartphones are playing a major role.” 

Robinson’s bill, S.B. 1014, enjoys bipartisan co-sponsorship from Democrats such as Sen. Vince Hughes. 

“Data shows that 72% of U.S. high school teachers say cellphone distraction is a major problem in the classroom,” Hughes noted. “Bell-to-bell legislation is a commonsense approach to getting kids off of their screens and social media during school hours and back to what’s happening in the classroom.” 

Over time, research from such sources as the New Jersey Commission on the Effects of Social Media Usage on Adolescents consistently supports an all-day or “bell-to-bell” approach to cellphone restriction, according to NJ Advance Media. 

“The report pointed to research that shows adolescents spending more than three hours per day on social media ‘face risks of not only depression and anxiety, but also concerns regarding cyberbullying, physical and mental health disorders, poor sleep quality, lowered self-esteem, and exposure to explicit content.’”