South Amboy, Carteret School Districts Get Grants For Cell Phone Bans

CARTERET, NJ — The Carteret and South Amboy school districts are two of 86 school districts across the state that just received grants from the NJ Dept. of Education to become "cell phone free-schools."

The DOE announced the grants Thursday, Dec. 18. Carteret school district is receiving $17,000 and the much smaller South Amboy public school system will receive $5,000.

This is "a bell-to-bell cell phone ban policy for all students in grades 6-12," said the NJ DOE. Expect the bans to come to South Amboy and Carteret schools sometime in 2026.

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. The 86 school districts that got grants will use the money to purchase 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."

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.