Berkeley Heights discusses E‑Rate switch upgrades and upcoming state ban on classroom Internet-enabled devices

The Berkeley Heights Board’s technology and communications committee outlined an E‑Rate-eligible network upgrade and raised preparation steps for a new state law restricting classroom Internet-enabled devices.

Committee members said the district should replace 11 Cisco Catalyst switches in elementary schools with Meraki MS‑150 devices now and plan for an additional 38 replacements at Governor Livingston High School (CMS and GL) in future years as equipment reaches end-of-life. The immediate equipment-and-installation cost for the elementary replacement was given as $43,919.

The vendor named for the project was Arctic; committee members discussed whether the elementary classroom environment requires the higher-speed capacity of the new switches and requested follow-up technical detail. One board member said the current hardware reached end-of-life in 2013 and recommended confirming the necessary throughput for classrooms before purchase.

Separately, the committee discussed the new state regulation on Internet-enabled devices (IEDs), which requires districts to adopt policies restricting personal devices during school hours. Committee members said the law’s effective implementation date is the start of the next school year (September 2026), and that the district will need a policy and an enforcement plan; possible approaches discussed included secure storage, collection bins, or other operational measures. Members also flagged potential unfunded costs and liability questions if the district is required to store or handle students’ devices.

The board directed the technology committee to provide more technical justification for the switch specification and to return with a policy recommendation and cost estimate for implementing IED controls before the fall 2026 deadline.