NJ School Phone Ban Signed Into Law By Governor Murphy

After several months of looming, the bill to ban cell phones in New Jersey K-12 public schools has officially been signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy.

The effort has been something Murphy has supported for years, calling cell phones in schools a distraction and a catalyst for deteriorating mental health among New Jersey teens.

On Thursday at Ramsey High School, just days before leaving office, the governor signed the bill into law after it was passed by both the Senate and Assembly in December.

“With this legislation, New Jersey is going to set a national standard for protecting our students, their mental well-being, and their ability to succeed in the classroom,” Murphy said Thursday. “In my view, there has never been a better moment to enact this transformative policy. Because as of this last school year, we are finally starting to see something that we have been working toward for the last five years — and that is a return to pre-pandemic levels of academic achievement among our state’s students.”

Murphy added that the bell-to-bell cell phone ban will create a more “nurturing and supportive environment” in classrooms, not only benefiting students but also staff members and educators who can focus on teaching and not policing smart devices.

Bill A4882, sponsored by Assemblywoman Rosaura Bagolie (D-27), establishes guidelines and limitations for K-12 students’ cell phone and social media usage during school hours and at school events. Assemblyman Cody D. Miller and Assemblywoman Carmen Theresa Morales joined Bagolie in sponsoring the bill.

The bill would not only require school districts to address cell phone usage in school, but also other smart devices, including smart watches, tablets, and laptops.

It also highlights exceptions to the ban, including the use of these devices for educational purposes, translation purposes, and as accommodations for disabled students, to name a few.

The ban gives school districts a baseline of how to enforce the protocol while allowing them "full control to create their own policies that align with that guidance and reflect their community’s values."

Sponsors of the bill said the regulation will be required starting in the coming 2026-27 school year.

“My goal was to make sure that we could effectively implement this policy to work with the Department of Education on guidelines that met the desire of our governor, which was to limit cell phone use during the instructional day, from bell to bell,” said Assemblywoman Bagolie, also an educator and administrator. “And to accomplish legislation that would ultimately lead to more student engagement, bring students back together in conversations, have them have meaningful socialization and engagement… And getting kids to calm the anxiousness of the moment.”

Bagolie added that several of the New Jersey students she’s spoken with were thankful that they won’t have to “compete for the attention” that phone use can bring while going through the school day.

Several school districts have already implemented a ban to some degree, with Murphy providing $980,000 to 86 school districts to support measures of the ban, even before the bill was passed.

One student at Ramsey High School, one of the schools that implemented a ban early, said that the school day felt “calmer and more manageable,” following the restrictions.

"It is a historic victory for educators, our parents, and most importantly... students," Murphy said. "I believe in the years to come, this proposal will be considered just as sensible as many laws that we take for granted today."

The bill has garnered support from leaders across the Garden State, including incoming Governor-Elect Mikie Sherrill, who calls the effort "a big step to protect our kids by making schools a safe, phone-free place to learn." She added that she intends to build on the legislature once she's sworn in.

Read about the ban, cell phones’ effects on students, and more here: NJ Approves School Cell Phone Ban: What To Know