The Hopewell Valley Regional School District will implement a bell-to-bell prohibition on student cell phone use across all schools beginning in the 2026–27 school year, following Board of Education adoption of an updated electronic device policy Monday night.
The revised policy limits student use of personal internet-enabled devices during the instructional day in all school buildings starting next year.
Board members said the district had already been moving toward stricter limits before a new statewide law enacted in January required New Jersey districts to adopt policies restricting student cell phone use during the school day.
“We discussed as a board and as a committee slowly moving towards a bell-to-bell policy … across the entire district by January of 2027,” board member Dr. Pamela Lilleston said during the policy presentation.
Implementation to vary by school level
District leaders said procedures will differ by school level, particularly at the high school, where students move on and off campus during the day.
“We really need to think about students’ flow through the high school … what this looks like if a student leaves for lunch or voc-tech,” Lilleston said, noting that administrators are evaluating options such as locking pouches, lockers, or other storage approaches. Timberlane Middle School already uses Yondr pouches which require students to put their device in the pouch at the start of the day and it cannot be used until the school day is over.
Hopewell Valley Central High School has begun student focus groups to gather feedback before finalizing procedures, she said.
“It’s important to get feedback from the high school so that we have an approach that works for everyone,” said Superintendent Dr. Rosetta Treece.
District emphasizing stronger local approach
Board member Dhruv Kapadia said the district intends to implement the policy in line with its broader digital-wellness goals, rather than adopting only minimal state requirements.
“The letter of the law and the spirit of the law are not one same,” Kapadia said. “The way we are going about implementing this law right now is to follow more of what the spirit of this is.”
He noted that districts may interpret the state law differently, but Hopewell Valley is choosing a more comprehensive approach.
Research and wellness focus
Board members emphasized that the policy aligns with ongoing district work on student mental health and digital wellness.
“There is really a good deal of research at this point that demonstrates that stricter policies around use of internet-enabled devices can improve students’ academic outcomes, potentially reduce cyberbullying, social media usage, and improve student mental health overall,” Lilleston said.
The policy applies to smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, and other personal internet-enabled devices, with exceptions for documented medical needs and accommodations in individualized education or health plans.
The district will use the coming months to finalize procedures and communicate expectations to families before full implementation in 2026–27.
