Sign up for Chalkbeat Newark’s free newsletter to get the latest news about the city’s public school system delivered to your inbox.
Newark Public Schools will join districts across New Jersey this fall in banning students from using cellphones in class.
The move follows a new state law requiring all schools to develop a bell-to-bell ban on using phones for K-12 students, although there are certain exceptions related to health, translation services, and other issues.
Schools must ban the use of cellphones and other personal internet-enabled devices for the entire school day. It’s up to individual school districts whether they store the devices for students, or if students are responsible for keeping them off and storing them, according to guidance from the New Jersey Department of Education.
In Newark, students will be allowed to carry cellphones as long as they are stored in pouches and remain off — not on silent or vibrate — from bell to bell. In June, the Newark school board approved the purchase of lockable Yondr pouches to store phones during class, using state funds.
Parents and teachers who spoke with Chalkbeat said they believed the ban will cut down on distractions, although they also noted concern about being able to contact children in emergencies and whether students will be able to work around the ban. And at least one expert warned the transition could lead to more anxiety and feelings of social isolation for students. Per the new law, school district policies should also include guidelines on how students can use phones during an emergency.
Joicki Floyd, a vice president of the Newark Teachers Union and teacher at Malcolm X Shabazz High School, said the district piloted the ban at her school after spring break last school year. Except for one or two instances where students learned how to open pouches or would steal them, the pilot was successful due to the collaboration among staff to enforce the policy, Floyd said.
The school also set up consequences for students who misused pouches or broke the policy, such as fines ranging between $5 for a warning or up to $20 to cover the cost of replacing the pouch, Floyd added.
“Students were definitely more engaged, more focused, and then we were able to see where they lacked in certain skills, so that we would be able to … accommodate what they did not know or what they needed to learn,” Floyd said.
State lawmakers have long said limiting cell phones in schools would help keep students focused. Former Gov. Phil Murphy in January signed the ban into law, which also provided funding to help districts buy phone storage systems such as Yondr pouches. Gov. Mikie Sherrill has expressed support for the new mandate.
Students like Malaya Lhill, a 14-year-old rising freshman at University High School, said her school last year made students store their phones in lockboxes. The state’s phone ban won’t be new to her, Lhill said, but it took time for her to adjust to it at her previous school.
“Sometimes I’d reach my hand in my pocket and I would think my phone’s there, but it’s not,” Lhil told Chalkbeat on Thursday. “And I like my phone because I can get in touch with my mom during school.”
National survey data from earlier this year showed that the majority of teens opposed a bell-to-bell ban and preferred rules that required students to put their phones away during class time.
During Newark’s last school year, Floyd, the Newark teacher at Shabazz, said it was helpful to incentivize seniors to follow the policy as a way to promote student participation among younger students.
“Then you had the underclassmen who were noticing that, oh the seniors have their pouches. Okay, we just got to do what we need to do,” Floyd added.
Lhill’s mom, Royanda Phillips, agrees that having phones during class time can be distracting. But she thinks there needs to be a balance between the policy and students’ needs.
“So I get it on both ends, but as a parent, I just feel like if I need to contact my child directly, I’ll have to call the office,” Phillips said. “And then it’s like, ‘OK hold on, let me see what class she’s in, let me try to see where she is in the building,’ instead of having direct contact (with my child).”
The law directs districts to spell out exceptions in cases where students may need phones or other internet-enabled devices during the school day. The state education department discourages parents from contacting their child’s personal phone during the school day, but it leaves it to schools to plan how parents can get in touch with them.
Shawna Rosenzweig, CEO of Campfire, an organization that connects students to outdoor experiences, urged parents to have conversations with their children ahead of the new school year, to get a handle on the new law and exceptions to it, and to work with schools to figure out other ways parents and children can contact each other if necessary.
“Transitions can be stressful and nerve-wracking and anxiety-inducing for young people, and so, really, it’s about … how do we support all the feelings that are going through their minds and bodies in those moments?” said Rosenzweig.
Chalkbeat also asked parents in a South Newark residents Facebook group how they feel about students going without cellphones during the school day. Several parents expressed support for the ban, noting that it was important for students to stay engaged during instruction.
One of them, Erica Wright, is an incoming teacher at Marion P. Thomas Charter School and a former educator in the Orange Public School district. She said her previous school’s ban last year had a positive impact on students’ social skills.
But teachers’ biggest challenge, she said, was getting students used to having their phones locked in pouches.
Jessie Gomez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at jgomez@chalkbeat.org.
