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Board directs study of cell‑phone rules after mixed views from staff, parents and students
Summary
Board members discussed competing views on student cell-phone use, asked administration to survey teachers, parents and students, and to organize school visits and research to inform a possible policy change.
Montville Township school board members on Feb. 7 debated tightening cell‑phone rules for students and asked administrators to gather more evidence before proposing district‑wide changes.
The conversation followed a policy‑committee review and comments from board members, who expressed differing views. Some members favored a stricter default — for example, having phones checked in at classroom doors so teachers could permit limited use for instruction — while others warned that a blanket lockup could prompt students to "binge" phone use at lunch or find workarounds. "If we lock up phones all day and the only time they have access is during lunch, then you're going to see a 180 on that," one board member said.
Board members and the superintendent discussed practical considerations raised by teachers: some classes allow phones for instructional uses (research, calculators, music during independent work) while other classes collect phones at the start of periods. Several trustees suggested surveying teachers confidentially to learn how phone use affects classroom management and instruction. Members also asked for parent and student feedback and for administration to compile relevant research about phone use, student mental health and learning outcomes.
The board directed the superintendent to meet with building leaders and Principal Sanford, to organize stakeholder surveys and to arrange opportunities for board members to observe lunch and classroom environments before any new district policy is proposed. A student who spoke during public comment urged the board to consider classroom context and self‑management skills when weighing a rule change.
