With students returning to classrooms on Sept.1, the Hopewell Valley Regional School District is putting the final pieces in place for the 2026-27 school year, including tighter restrictions on student cellphones, continued referendum construction and new state funding for student mental health services.
Superintendent Dr. Rosetta Treece told the Board of Education at its Aug. 17 meeting that the district had welcomed 26 new faculty members and was preparing for all teachers to return this week for professional development. Students return on Tues. Sept. 1.
School administrators just released student schedules at the end of last week even as new students continued to enroll, Treece said.
District facilities crews were also completing summer work, including roof projects funded through the district’s voter-approved referendum. Treece said there had been some delays, but any work continuing into the school year was not expected to interfere with students.
Cellphone restrictions expand for new school year
One of the most significant changes students will encounter this fall is an expansion of the district’s restrictions on cellphones and other internet-enabled devices.
The board advanced on first reading a revised regulation governing student use of internet-enabled devices. The change comes as districts implement a new state requirement prohibiting nonacademic use of internet-enabled devices on school grounds during the school day.
For elementary students, devices will be required to remain turned off and stored in backpacks during the school day. Students in grades six through 12 will use pouch systems to keep phones inaccessible during the day.
Timberlane Middle School students already use magnetic locking pouches called Yondr pouches. Central High School will use a somewhat different system this year that gives students more responsibility. Phones will be stored in pouches secured with Velcro, with the ability to lock the pouch for students who repeatedly violate the rules.
Treece said the pouches also block signals, reducing the temptation created by notifications even when a device isn’t being actively used.
She said administrators have already noticed changes among students who came through Timberlane under its existing restrictions.
“They’re actually playing and looking at each other and speaking, which is amazing,” Treece said.
The proposed regulation would also prohibit students from using the devices on school buses, although students could keep devices with them and use smartwatches for location tracking after leaving school.
The regulation will return to the board for a second reading before final adoption.
$75,000 secured for student mental health services
The district had already announced that it has received a $75,000 state budget appropriation to expand student mental health services and continue its partnership with Mercer County-based nonprofit Attitudes in Reverse for the AIR Dogs program in the schools.
Board member Dhruv Kapadia shared more of his thoughts with the board explaining how the funding will support mental health programming and help continue the therapy dog program. He pointed to a Hopewell Valley Youth Advisory Board survey in which 66.3% of Central High School students reported experiencing excessive stress related to academics, social media, extracurricular activities and other pressures.
The appropriation is the second direct state budget allocation the district has received in two years. Last year, HVRSD received $125,000 toward an accessible playground at Bear Tavern Elementary School, bringing the two-year total to $200,000. That playground is currently under construction at Bear Tavern and is expected to be completed this fall.
Kapadia credited state Sen. Shirley Turner, Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli and Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, along with community members who advocated for the funding.
The board also briefly discussed the possibility of weighing in as the state begins examining broader changes to New Jersey’s school funding system. Board members said organizations including the New Jersey School Boards Association and New Jersey Association of School Business Officials are expected to play roles in those discussions.
Attendance improves at Central High School
The board’s Education and Social-Emotional Learning Committee also reported improvement in chronic absenteeism at Central High School.
Board member Dr. Alex Reznik said the high school’s chronic absenteeism rate is now 8.8%, down from about 10%, putting the school within state guidelines. Daily attendance is close to 95%, he said.
Part of the improvement resulted from correcting how the district reported students who were on medical leave but receiving home instruction. Those students had previously been recorded as absent when they should have been reported as present while receiving instruction.
Reznik said Principal Patricia Riley also implemented measures at the high school intended to reduce chronic absenteeism.
District responds to AP artificial intelligence disputes
The district is also continuing to work with students whose AP Seminar and AP Research work was flagged by the College Board for suspected use of artificial intelligence.
Reznik said several Hopewell Valley students received zeros on portions of their work after the College Board determined there was evidence of AI use. Some students appealed, with their teacher supporting their contention that they had not improperly used AI.
One student’s initial denial has since been overturned on a second appeal after the district provided a teacher letter and detailed Google Docs editing records, Reznik said. Teachers have now submitted similar documentation for other students whose appeals were denied, and the district is awaiting decisions.
The experience is also prompting the district to consider ways to better document student work in the future, including maintaining editing histories that could help demonstrate how a paper or project was developed.
Review planned for gifted education program
The district is also planning an outside review of its gifted education program following several years of changes to staffing and program structure.
Reznik said the district believes the program has stabilized at the elementary level, where a teacher now helps coordinate programming across the four elementary schools.
Attention will next turn to the middle school program. A consultant is expected to conduct a broader assessment during the coming school year, with potential changes to follow.
Referendum work continues
Meanwhile, work connected to the district’s $84.2 million referendum is underway across the district.
Board member Mark Peters said roofing projects were the primary focus of summer referendum construction, with some roofing work expected to continue into September without disrupting school operations. Solar panels are also being reinstalled on the Central High School gym roof.
Work on the accessible playground at Bear Tavern Elementary remains on schedule despite some damaged and delayed equipment, Peters said.
The district also continues discussions with Hopewell Township over municipal funding toward the Bear Tavern expansion included in the referendum. Peters described those negotiations as being at the “one yard line” and said the district hopes to have a firm update within the next month or two. Hopewell Township has committed over $16 million dollars to the Bear Tavern addition which is expected to be used as debt relief on the costs associated the addition that are part of the referendum.
New transportation options considered
Another policy under consideration could eventually allow the district to use qualified school employees without commercial driver’s licenses to transport small numbers of students in district-owned or private vehicles.
Under recently enacted state rules, designated employees could transport up to eight students in qualifying vehicles rather than requiring a school bus and commercial driver for every trip. Board member Dr. Pamela Lilleston said the option could be useful for small groups traveling to activities.
Treece said districts are looking at the option as a potential way to reduce transportation costs, particularly in situations where only one or a few students need transportation.
“This might be an opportunity to buy a smaller vehicle or an electric vehicle to transport smaller number of students after school and save the district money,” Treece said.
The district did not meet the state deadline to designate eligible employees for this year because the policy had not yet been adopted, but officials said it could become an option in the future.
