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Murphy signs measure banning cell phone use in all public schools

By: Mary Ann Koruth
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... Governor Phil Murphy signed into law New Jersey's long proposed "bell-to-bell" ban on cell phones in public schools and public charter and renaissance schools during a ceremony at Ramsey high School on January 8. [2026]
..... The law, which took a year to pass both houses and reach the governor's desk, requires boards of education to issue policies prohibiting cell phone use during school time, including school events and on buses, and to include policies for emergencies.
..... It will be implemented in the 2026-2027 school year.
..... "I wish this legislation had been in place earlier," Murphy said. "It took a village' to get the bill passed, he said.
..... The bill signing at Ramsey was a nod to the Ramsey Board of Education which went ahead and instituted its own district-wide cell phone ban long before the state drafted a law.
..... Ramsey High School students have been placing their phones in locked Yondr pouches for a year, while the district's six to eighth graders put their phones in lockers during the school day and elementary-age students place them in backpacks.
..... Other New Jersey districts with cell phone polices already in place include Montclair, South Plainfield and Jersey City, as well as public schools in Sussex County.
..... New Jersey becomes the 28th state to restrict the sue of any "Internet-enabled device," a catch-all for smartphones, tablets and wearable technology like Google glasses and smartwatches.
..... At least 31 states ahve passed some sort of law limiting or incentivizing reduced cell phone use, accoridng to Educaiton Week. The push to limit cell phone use in schools has grown internationally with countrywide bans in the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates, according to Newsweek.
..... The law requester Commissioner for the Department of Education Kevin Dehmer to issue guidelines for cell phone sue according to age and grade lever by March, [2026] 90 days from the bill signing.
..... Guidelines will include accommodations for special education students with Individualize Education Plans (IEPs), and exceptions for use during a school emergency or a "perceived threat." School principals may also issue exceptions for students who provide health or learning related needs and documentation on a case-by-case basis.
..... One universal concern among older students is around school shootings, when a cell phone is often the last resort to call for help or even to say goodbye to parents. Law enforcement officials have said that cell phone use during active shooter emergencies can jam networks or be a safety threat by ringing and exposing students who are in hiding.

Aimed at cyberbullying

..... Murphy proposed a statewide school ell phone ban during his State of the State address a year ago. And the state education department released its now report, titled "Growing up Online," in September, [2025] instructed by a 2023 law to study social media's effects on adolescents, and offer guidance to New Jersey's pubic school districts, including charter and renaissance schools.
..... "The evidence is clear," the report said. "While social media offers opportunities for connection and expression, it also poses serious risks, from cyberbullying and addictive use patterns to privacy threats, sleep disruption and mental health declines."
..... The report, produced in collaboration with Rutgers University's School of Communication and Information, recommended 16 as the minimum age for suing social media and said parents should "delay" children;s access to social media.
..... Cell phone use has been particularly dangerous when students sue recordings to bully and intimidate their peers. In New Jersey, the suicide of Adriana Kuch, a 14-year-old student at Central Regional High School in Bayville on February 4, [2025] after fellow students attacked her in a hallway and posted a video Online, led to an outcry.

Youth mental health crisis

..... In addition to addressing teen mental health concerns, banning cell phones might put a dent in the 24/7 nature of cyberbullying, advocates say.
..... "For me personally this bill signing is a full circle moment," Murphy said, referring to his spearheading the issue of youth mental health as chair of the National Governors Association in 2022.
..... "Let's face the facts," Murphy said at the signing ceremony. "this growing youth mental health crisis did not come out of nowhere." It came after cell phones became "ubiquitous." "We are going to rid our classrooms of needless distractions," he said.
..... The senate approved an early version of the law unanimously last January. [2025] Then came an unexplained delay of several months, which need with the Assembly sending the bill back to the senate in early December [2025] with changes. One change said the law should prohibit use of cell phones during he entire school day, instead of only during instructional time.
..... The changes also required school boards to address cell phone use during an emergency or danger.
..... Murphy thanked the bill's sponsors, state Senator Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester, and Assemblywoman Rosy Bagolie, D-Essex and Passaic and Assemblyman Cody Miller, D-Gloucester, as well as Jonathan Haidt,a New York University professor and author of "The anxious generation," which lays out the connection between cell and social media use and youth mental health.
..... Meanwhile, the state Education Department implemented its own strategies from issuing guidelines in 2024aorund how schools regulate cell phone use, and a Phone-Free School Grant Program that paid schools a minimum of $500 for instituting bell-to-bell bans last October. [2025]
..... "Being the phone police" is not one of duties of an educator. Steve Beatty, president of the New Jersey Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union, said at the signing ceremony. he thanked Murphy for being the "best education governor," noting several achievements but highlighting Murphy;s move to fully fund schools according to the school funding formula.
..... Murphy has "changed our lives gene rationally," he said.
..... "It's a very large sundae," Beatty said, referring to Murphy's education initiatives, with the cell phone ban law as the "cherry on top."

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