On Tuesday, January 8th, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into state law a new cell phone ban (referred to as the “bell-to-bell” law), which is expected to foster a more social and educational environment for students. This legislation matters because it will affect students all across the state of New Jersey and puts a heavy burden on the New Jersey Department of Education to create these state-wide guidelines for “internet-enabled devices”.
This bill is a joint effort incorporating many different recommendations from the Commission on the Effects of Social Media Usage on Adolescents. When asked about his understanding of the Law principle, Martin said: “The biggest thing is that this bill really puts forth that schools must have policies, you can’t just say it is what it is, kids have cell phones, you have to do something about it”.
RV is one of the few schools in NJ that was ahead of the curve as far as this bill is concerned. RV already has a cell phone usage policy stating “Students are never permitted to use their cell phones in the building or during school hours. If a cell phone is seen or heard, it will be confiscated, and it will ONLY be returned to a parent/guardian.” This is generally what the cell phone ban law calls for: stated guidelines for cell usage or lack thereof.
Principal Martin went on to add on later in the interview that “I’m a believer that we should force kids to give their time back, no kid wants to give up their cell phone… One of the big changes when we started enforcing again was that I started to see kids be human again.” This “bell-to-bell” cell phone ban law marks an effort by the state legislature to create a school environment more conducive to learning.
What can the RV student expect to come next year, though? More of the same as far as policy and enforcement go.
