A mandatory phone rule is now in every handbook

What happened

For the 2026-27 school year, all three of Belleville's student handbooks carry the same cell phone rule, and each states it was adopted to meet a New Jersey law requiring every public school to have and enforce a policy on student cell phones and other personal electronic communication devices during the school day. The handbooks say the point is to remove distractions, protect instructional time and encourage face-to-face interaction, that compliance is mandatory for all students, and that the full text sits in board Policy and Regulation 5516. The elementary handbook extends the rule to smart watches.

Why it matters to families

This is a rule children run into every day, and it is new enough that families may not know it applies at their child's school. It is also a rule the district says it is required to enforce rather than one it chose, which changes how much discretion a school has about it.

The evidence

The Belleville High School, Belleville Middle School and elementary handbooks for 2026-27 each state that 'The cell phone policy is adopted in accordance with New Jersey law, which requires all public schools to implement and enforce a policy governing the use of student cell phones and other personal electronic communication devices during the school day,' that its purpose is 'to eliminate distractions, maximize instructional time, promote respectful face-to-face interactions, and maintain a safe, focused learning environment', that 'Compliance with this policy is mandatory for all students', and they refer readers to 'Policy & Regulation 5516'. The elementary handbook's discipline list covers 'cell phone and smart watches without permission'. Searches of all three handbooks for artificial intelligence and related terms return nothing.

The source