Students' Cell Phones Will Be Locked Up In These 9 Hudson County School Districts

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — Tired of distractions, some New Jersey school districts have started locking up students' cell phones during the day. Now the state of New Jersey is awarding grant money to help.

The state announced this month that it's giving "Phone-Free Grant Program" grants to districts across the Garden State, including nine in Hudson County.

Some of those winning awards are individual charter schools, which are public schools but considered independent districts.

Local districts and charter schools to receive the awards are:

• Empowerment Academy Charter School, Jersey City: $5,769.46
• Golden Door Charter School, Jersey City: $1,426
• Guttenberg School District: $2,723.42
• Harrison Public Schools: $10,633.30
• Hoboken Charter School: $1,322.16
• Hudson Arts and Science Charter School, Kearny: $3,061.00
• Jersey City Global Charter School: $1,000
• Union City School District: $52,451.18
• Weehawken Public School District: $5,630

The grants apply to districts planning to implement a "bell-to-bell" policy of locking up the phones all day, for grades 6-12. The grants will help with expenses for lockers or other types of storage.

Schools Look At Research

Deirdra Grode, the executive director of Hoboken Charter School, a k-12 school, said, "Hoboken Charter School does not allow students to have access to cell phones during the school day. We believe that school time should be free from the distractions of phones and social media so that students can focus on learning, connect meaningfully with one another and be fully present in their classroom and school community."

She noted that administrators and faculty have been reading the current research on youth mental health and technology use.

According to the state, the policies must be consistent with state guidelines applying to internet devices on school grounds. The guidelines cover everything from age-appropriate materials to exceptions to access guidelines when there's a medical reason.

Devices can go in locked pouches or in locked containers in classrooms, the guidelines note.

"A bell-to-bell policy must ensure that 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," the state said. "Participating districts will receive funds to implement secure storage systems such as lockers, locked pouch systems, or check-in cabinets."

“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. If we want to provide New Jersey’s children with a world-class education, we need to give schools the tools necessary to remove...distractions,” said Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer said of a report issued by the Commission on the Effects of Social Media Usage on Adolescents.

The grants are funded through $3 million in the Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Act. Approximately $980,000 was allocated in this round, but the state Board of Education plans to award more during another funding round, they said.