Phones banned bell to bell, and banned all day for the youngest students

What happened

Hillsborough adopted Policy 5516 on August 24, 2026, setting bell-to-bell rules on personal internet-enabled devices for 2026-27 as New Jersey law P.L.2025 c.195 requires. The rules go by grade band. From pre-kindergarten through grade 4 devices are banned on school grounds before, during and after school, on buses, on field trips and at after-school events, must be switched off and password-protected in a backpack, and flip phones and walkie-talkies are banned outright. Grades 5 and 6 may use devices on the bus and at after-school events but must store them in lockers during the day. Grades 7 and 8 may also use them before and after school on grounds; a field trip needs the superintendent's permission. Each band has a four-step ladder: a documented parent notification, then a parent collecting and signing for the device, then a mandatory meeting with the principal to write a prevention plan.

Why it matters to families

This changes the school day for every student in the district, and for the youngest children it reaches the bus and after-school events too. Families need to know the exact rule for their child's grade and what happens if a device is taken, because from the second offence a parent has to come to school to get it back.

The evidence

The district's published procedures document sets out the rules and the four-step discipline ladder for each grade band and cites P.L.2025 c.195 and state guidance. The August 24, 2026 meeting recording records the board adopting Policy 5516 on second reading after the governance committee reviewed it, with the board president calling the state regulation fast-moving and the plan as good as could be built at short notice.

The source