By: Cosmo F. Terrigno, Ed.S.
SOUTH JERSEY — The backpacks are packed. Classrooms are open. Another school year has begun across South Jersey.
But something is different this September.
Students are returning to schools with two messages about technology.
Put the phone away.
Learn how to use increasingly powerful technology responsibly.
At first, those ideas may seem contradictory. They are not.
As South Jersey students return to school, educators face a new challenge: teaching young people that technological literacy no longer means simply knowing how to use technology. It also means knowing when to use it, how to question it and when to put it away.
Doing that requires schools to establish boundaries.
Bell to Bell
Beginning with the 2026-27 school year, New Jersey public schools must implement policies restricting students’ nonacademic use of personal internet-enabled devices throughout the school day.
Under guidance issued by the New Jersey Department of Education, local boards of education must adopt bell-to-bell policies aligned with state requirements. Districts retain flexibility over implementation, including decisions about device storage, supervision and enforcement.
District policies must permit device use in certain circumstances, including when required by a student’s individualized education program, Section 504 plan or health plan. Other exceptions include translation services, caregiving responsibilities, emergencies and documented circumstances required by law. Districts may also establish a local approval process for specific uses when no reasonable alternative exists.
NJDOE says the restrictions are intended to reduce distractions while supporting academic engagement, student well-being and a positive school climate.
That does not mean removing technology from education.
State guidance recognizes the educational value of technology while placing limits on the nonacademic use of personal devices during the school day.
Three Communities, One Challenge
The statewide requirement reaches school communities that can look very different from one another.
Pittsgrove Township School District serves a largely rural Salem County community. Bridgeton Public Schools serves the county seat of Cumberland County. Cherry Hill Public Schools serves a large suburban community in Camden County.
Different communities bring different needs, resources and circumstances. NJDOE guidance recognizes those differences by allowing local flexibility in implementation based on the needs and capacity of each school community.
That flexibility is particularly relevant in South Jersey, where a statewide requirement must work across districts that vary considerably in size, setting and community needs.
For Pittsgrove, Bridgeton and Cherry Hill, the larger educational question is nevertheless the same: How can schools benefit from technology while limiting personal devices that can compete for students’ attention?
Pittsgrove is communicating an “Off and Away” initiative to its school community as students begin the 2026-27 school year. For a largely rural Salem County district, the change demonstrates how the new statewide expectations extend into smaller communities as well as larger school systems.
In Bridgeton, the district has provided clear direction as the new requirement takes effect, prominently featuring its 2026-27 bell-to-bell policy in communications with its school community and families.
The roles behind that process are distinct. Boards of education establish district policy, while superintendents administer those policies and direct their implementation.
Cherry Hill Public Schools has also communicated its 2026-27 bell-to-bell expectations to families. Its current technology guidance explicitly distinguishes personal internet-enabled devices from school-issued technology and also addresses the responsible use of artificial intelligence.
Taken together, the three districts illustrate the reach of the statewide change across very different South Jersey communities. Pittsgrove brings the perspective of a largely rural district. Bridgeton demonstrates clear districtwide communication in a Cumberland County community. Cherry Hill shows how a large suburban district is distinguishing between personal devices and technology provided for educational use.
The details may differ from district to district, but the broader distinction remains.
School-issued and district-approved technology are usually incorporated into instruction under the direction of educators. Personal devices can give students independent access to social media, videos, games and other online content unrelated to what is happening in the classroom.
The new restrictions establish clearer boundaries around those personal devices without removing technology intended for learning.
Then There Is AI
At the same time New Jersey is restricting the nonacademic use of personal devices, the state is preparing students and educators for a future increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.
NJDOE considers preparing students to use AI responsibly and effectively an essential part of that future. State guidance emphasizes understanding what AI can do, recognizing where it can fail and keeping human judgment at the center of learning.
That helps explain why restricting personal devices and supporting educational technology are not competing goals.
Access and education are not necessarily the same thing.
A student with internet access has an enormous amount of information available. Learning also requires the ability to evaluate that information, determine whether it is reliable and use it appropriately.
AI makes that distinction increasingly important.
NJDOE identifies several potential educational uses for AI, including brainstorming, organization, translation, feedback and tutoring support. But the department also cautions that AI can produce information that is inaccurate, incomplete or biased. Students still need to think for themselves, and educators still need to exercise professional judgment. Information produced by AI needs to be verified.
That places teachers in an important role.
Teachers can help students determine when technology supports learning, teach them to question the information it provides and maintain expectations for original thought.
Learning to Use Technology by Learning Its Limits
For years, technological literacy largely meant knowing how to operate technology.
That definition is becoming broader.
New Jersey’s current approach recognizes that knowing how to use a digital tool is only part of the equation. Students also need the judgment to recognize its limitations and use it responsibly.
Together, the state’s approach to personal devices and educational technology reflects that broader understanding of digital literacy.
Pittsgrove, Bridgeton and Cherry Hill represent different parts of South Jersey, but all are working within the same statewide framework. Teachers work within that framework every day, using educational technology when it serves instruction while maintaining boundaries around personal devices.
Technology remains an important part of the classroom.
The bell-to-bell requirement does not change that. Instead, it establishes a distinction between having constant access to technology and learning how to use technology with purpose.
As another school year begins across South Jersey, that may be one of the most important elements of technological literacy: knowing when technology deserves a student’s attention, when its information deserves scrutiny and when it is time to put the device away.
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