Asbury Park School District Gets State Grant For A Cell Phone Ban

ASBURY PARK, NJ — The Asbury Park school district is one of 86 school districts across the state that just received grants from the NJ Dept. of Education to become a "cell phone free-school."

The DOE announced the grants Thursday, Dec. 18. Asbury Park School District received $5,156 to put the policy into place; expect the ban to come sometime in 2026.

This is "a bell-to-bell cell phone ban policy for all students in grades 6-12," said the NJ DOE.

A "bell-to-bell" policy means students’ cell phones and other internet-enabled devices are securely stored when students arrive at school, and access is not allowed during the entire school day. Participating districts will use the grant money to put in lockers, locked pouch systems or check-in cabinets.

Gov. Phil Murphy said he supports cell phone bans in schools.

“In recent years, we’ve begun to truly understand the threat that cell phones and access to social media pose to our children’s education," the governor said this week. “Getting cell phones out of schools helps educators, it helps parents, and most of all, it helps our kids. I am proud of the leadership shown by these early-adopting districts, and I look forward to seeing the impact of these new policies on our young learners.”

The grants are funded through a $3 million appropriation in the Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Act. The DOE intends to launch another funding round to expand to additional districts.

The list of all 86 school districts that received grants for this is available on the NJDOE’s website.