Phones stay locked up, and students keep asking why

What happened

Collingswood High School locks student phones in pouches during the school day and the superintendent told the board in May 2026 that this phone-free, distraction-free approach continues in 2026-27, aligned with New Jersey's new cell-phone-free schools law. The district's written rule is older than the practice: policy 5516 was approved in 2010 and last revised in January 2016, bans having a device turned on or in use during the school day rather than banning possession, and still lists pagers, personal digital assistants and portable fax machines among the devices it covers. A separate 2018 policy allows a location-only tracking device but not one that can listen in or record. Student representatives reported a survey averaging 5.78 out of 10 for the school year with most comments pushing for reform, and said the main objection is safety rather than convenience. The district's safety report attributed a rise in in-school suspensions at the high school to students adapting to the pouches, and administrators said the pouch process was consuming about 45 minutes of staff time a day.

Why it matters to families

This is the rule that shapes a student's whole day and how a parent reaches their child during it. Students told the board that pouches had been stolen with phones inside, and that after staff found more than half the student body claiming to have no phone the school began searches. The written policy has not caught up with the practice or with the new state law, so what is actually enforced rests on administrative interpretation rather than on a current board rule.

The evidence

The May 18, 2026 recording records the superintendent saying the phone-free, distraction-free continuation is aligned with the new cell phone free schools law, and the student representative reporting a 5.78 out of 10 average and most survey comments pushing for reform. Policy 5516 is marked approved October 25, 2010 and revised January 25, 2016, prohibits having a device turned on or in use during the school day, and lists pagers, personal digital assistants and portable fax machines. Policy 5516.01, adopted February 26, 2018, permits a tracking device but not one enabling audio or video communication. The February 26, 2026 recording contains the safety report attributing the rise in in-school suspensions to the pouches and the 45 minutes a day figure. The November 24, 2025 recording contains the stolen-pouch and search reports.

The source