Newark students walked back into classrooms this week under a new rule that could cost them their phones entirely: devices must now be “off and away” from the moment school starts until dismissal. The policy marks the first full rollout of New Jersey's statewide cellphone ban inside the state's largest school district, and it comes with real consequences for students caught breaking it.
Under the mandate, Newark Public Schools students must keep their phones turned off and stored in a pocket, bag or locker throughout the school day, according to ABC7 New York. If a device is seen or heard, students may have it confiscated, and repeated violations could be handled through the district's disciplinary process. The station reports that students may ultimately lose the privilege of carrying devices at school at all.
The statewide requirement traces back to legislation signed by then-Governor Phil Murphy in January, which mandated that every public school district and charter school in New Jersey adopt bell-to-bell restrictions on cellphones and other internet-enabled devices during the school day, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association. The law takes effect for the 2026-27 academic year and leaves individual school districts to develop their own enforcement plans, per the same account.
What Counts as a Banned Device
State guidance issued in January by the New Jersey Department of Education spells out exactly what falls under the new restrictions: smartphones, tablets, smartwatches and smart glasses are all included, according to NJ.gov. Districts have flexibility in how they store devices, whether through locked pouch systems, lockers or classroom caddies, and the guidelines require exceptions for students with medical needs, IEPs or emergencies.
To help districts get ready, the state Department of Education launched a Phone-Free Schools Grant Program in October 2025, awarding funding to 86 school districts statewide to support device storage infrastructure for grades 6 through 12, the New Jersey Education Association reports. The mandate itself grew out of a September 2025 report titled Growing Up Online from the New Jersey Commission on the Effects of Social Media Usage on Adolescents, which urged the bell-to-bell ban and recommended delaying social media access until age 16 to curb cyberbullying and mental health risks, according to Advocates for Children of New Jersey.
Newark's Superintendent Makes the Rounds
Newark Public Schools, which ABC7 New York describes as New Jersey's largest school district, is rolling out the policy under Superintendent Roger León, a graduate of the district he now leads. León was expected to visit multiple Newark schools Tuesday to personally welcome students back to the classroom as the new phone rules took hold, per the station's report.
The district enters the seventh year of its 10-year strategic plan, The Next Decade: 2020-2030, which aims to transform the school system, according to ABC7's report. Newark serves 43,216 students across 66 schools in the current academic year, per Chalkbeat, and the New Jersey Department of Education designated the system a High Performing District on July 1 after it met or exceeded state benchmarks across all five evaluation areas under the Quality Single Accountability Continuum, according to the Newark Board of Education.
A National Shift Toward Phone-Free Classrooms
Newark's rollout lands amid a broader wave of public support for such restrictions. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in May and June found that 77% of U.S. adults support banning cellphone use in class for middle and high schoolers, while 48% now back full bell-to-bell all-day bans — up from 36% in 2024, according to the Pew Research Center. By 2026, at least 30 states had enacted laws or policies requiring or permitting bell-to-bell restrictions, placing New Jersey alongside states like California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana and New York, per Education Week.
Federal survey data reported by NewsNation in August 2024 found that 72% of U.S. high school teachers identify cellphone distraction as a major classroom problem, while separate research cited by the outlet showed teenagers averaging nearly 8 hours of daily screen time, including 1.5 hours during school hours. The push has also reached New Jersey's congressional delegation: U.S. Representative Josh Gottheimer proposed federal legislation Monday urging schools to enforce bell-to-bell bans while offering federal grant funding under the AI LABS Act for artificial intelligence learning labs, as Gottheimer pairs AI labs with phone bans.
For now, the immediate change is playing out in Newark hallways, where students are adjusting to a school day without their phones in hand and administrators are working through the practical details of enforcement, storage and discipline that come with New Jersey's new law.
