Moorestown school board candidates at a candidate forum described the district’s recently adopted cell-phone policy — which requires K–8 students to keep devices away for the day and restricts high-school use during instructional time — as an appropriate initial step while urging continued evaluation.

Claudine Marano, who led policy work on the board, said the policy was “a measured approach” developed with staff, students and parents and that it is “a work in progress.” Danielle Miller, who served on the negotiations and curriculum committees, said she supported “away for the day for K to 8” and praised the policy’s flexibility for high-school teachers to adopt classroom procedures.

Katie Berman said the district should solicit structured feedback from teachers and students to determine whether additional steps are needed and cited an example from another high school where teachers use a mandatory phone “caddy.” “If we find that this isn’t quite effective enough … that might be the next step,” Berman said.

Ayesha Hassan and other candidates emphasized compassion for families with special circumstances and recommended clearly defined and fairly enforced rules. Hassan said, “Policy should always be implemented with both intention and compassion,” and suggested structured acceptable-use times in high school.

Candidates agreed the policy is new and warrants a defined review period; several noted the board will accept feedback from administrators, teachers and parents before considering further restrictions or changes. The forum did not create any formal board action; candidates described their positions and what oversight they would exercise if elected.