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Mountain Lakes board approves dormancy software to block students’ personal-device internet access during school day
Summary
The Mountain Lakes Board of Education voted to hear and approve a grouped consent agenda that includes adopting a dormancy (device‑blocking) software for personal devices during the school day; the district says the $3,000 implementation will be offset by a $2,000 Department of Education grant and that medical/IEP exemptions apply.
The Mountain Lakes Board of Education agreed to adopt a dormancy software platform to block students’ internet access on personal devices while in school, district staff told trustees.
Superintendent Dr. Siegel described the product as a district-selected dormancy program that will “block the students from accessing the Internet from their personal devices during the school day,” and said the board will adopt that software pending final policy committee review. He told trustees the purchase would be funded largely with district funds but that the district would receive $2,000 from the New Jersey Department of Education toward a roughly $3,000 purchase.
The move responds to state guidance on student-device restrictions under the New Jersey open public meeting law context and Department of Education FAQ documents the superintendent referenced. Dr. Siegel said the district’s policy vendor (Strauss Esmay) had advised caution until the state clarified its position and that the FAQ was published and would be circulated to trustees.
Trustees asked for practical clarifications before adopting the software. Board members sought and received staff statements that the dormancy system:
- applies to students’ personal, internet-capable devices while they are in school buildings during the school day (it does not block devices left in vehicles or devices off-campus), - does not apply to district-issued Chromebooks (it targets personal devices), - does not apply to school buses or off-site events, and - allows medical and IEP-related exemptions (examples given: hearing aids, diabetes-related devices).
Trustees asked the superintendent to circulate the state FAQ and a local FAQ for parents and staff; Dr. Siegel said he would send the documents to all board members and present the policy in an upcoming policy committee meeting.
The board took roll call to hear a grouped set of consent motions that included the dormancy software purchase and other routine procurements and approvals. Trustees voting in the affirmative during the roll call included Dr. Dunn, Ms. Foreman, Ms. Kulkarni, Ms. McVay, Dr. Sheff, Dr. Silva McIntyre and Ms. Bartkowski. The grouped motions were approved by roll call as recorded.
Next steps: the superintendent will circulate the state FAQ and the district FAQ to trustees and the item will be brought to the policy committee for final policy language and formal adoption.
