State Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlintold NJ Advance Media that he favors approving a bell-to-bell ban on cellphones for kindergarten through 12th grade.
Coughlin, the second-highest-ranking state lawmaker in New Jersey, said it’s one of his goals to pass the plan before the current legislative session ends Jan. 20.
The Middlesex County Democrat specifically referenced an Assembly bill, A4882, that would direct the state Department of Education to develop a policy prohibiting non-academic use of a cellphone or social media during classroom instruction, with some exceptions.
Many of New Jersey’s approximately 600 public school districts already restrict cellphone use in classrooms but the policies and punishments vary. Some require students to keep their phones off and out of sight, while others provide locations for the devices to be stored during the school day.
The proposed law could help school districts adopt uniform rules banning cellphones bell-to-bell, which means prohibiting use during the entire academic day.
The legislation was introduced in October 2024, but has not been voted on by the full Assembly. The state Senate, the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature, passed its own version of the bill, S3695, in January in a 35-0 vote.
Coughlin said he was at a conference this fall where the speakers were discussing a bell-to-bell school cellphone ban.
“And the positive impact that I’m hearing about makes me believe that we should be considering that bill. So moving on both of those fronts, I think are going to have a real positive impact,” Coughlin told NJ Advance Media earlier this week.
Coughlin gave a succinct answer when asked if he personally supports a bell-to-bell classroom cellphone ban.
“Yeah,” he said.
The plan needs to be approved by the full Legislature and signed by the governor to become state law.
The statewide ban has been a priority of outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy, also a Democrat, since January. So far, the effort has stalled.
But Coughlin’s support is key to the proposal moving out of the Democratic-controlled Legislature during the “lame duck” legislative session — the timeframe between the November general election and the start of a new legislative session.
A new statewide policy in New York bars unsanctioned use of cellphones and other devices for the entire school day. The policy, backed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, debuted on Sept. 4 in New York City as students returned to classes.
In its report, the state Commission on the Effects of Social Media Usage in Adolescents stopped short of calling for a statewide policy or legislation banning cellphones in class, which Murphy endorsed in a speech to state legislators in January.
The school board in Jersey City, New Jersey’s second-largest city, prohibited cellphones and other personal communications devices in classrooms starting Oct. 1 . Students are allowed to use cellphones during lunch and recess periods but not during bathroom breaks,
Similar to cellphone restrictions in other districts, the Jersey City plan includes exemptions for students with disabilities or health issues.
The lame-duck session comes before Murphy leaves office Jan. 20 after eight years in office. New Jersey’s constitution limits governors to serving two terms.
Fellow Democrat Mikie Sherrillwon this month’s high-profile election to succeed him. Democrats also gained five seats in the Legislature.
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