BY NEILL BOROWSKI
NJ Spotlight
This article was reported by 70and73.com, a nonprofit publishing partner of NJ Spotlight News.
The Cherry Hill school district, which is adopting the state’s strict bell-to-bell ban on cell phone use on school grounds beginning in September, also is studying overall technology use by students, the district disclosed.
After board members on July 28 heard a report on implementing the state cell policy, Farrah Mahan, the assistant superintendent for preK-12 and curriculum, said school officials in August will present a proposed technology policy that includes an AI plan.
Cherry Hill, 10 miles east of Philadelphia, is one of the state’s largest school districts, with about 10.700 students.
The state ban on cell use, including smart watches and smart glasses, requires students to store devices in places like lockers, backpacks, hanging wall pockets and magnetic pouches.
“We will revisit this if needed if the need arises and have asked administration to monitor whether a change is needed and to update the board,” Miriam Stern said in reading a report by fellow trustee Bridget Palmer, who was absent.
Some exceptions
The state Education Department recommended that school boards suspend the two-reading requirement for new policies to make sure the restrictions are in force by September. However, Cherry Hill will have a second reading of the policy at a special meeting so the process is not “shortchanged,” Stern said.
Educators across the nation have expressed concern over the impact of student cell-phone use during the school day. Continual social media use, besides distracting students in the classroom, can have other negative effects.
“The unregulated use of these devices during the school day can result in lower academic performance, harm to emotional well-being and deterioration of a positive school climate,” according to the New Jersey Department of Education webpage on student digital wellness.
That page points to the new law on school cell phone use and a 17-page report published by the state in January on the use of internet devices.
Stern explained that there can be exemptions to the ban for special situations, including students who use the devices to monitor their health conditions or as part of an individualized education program. Some may need to use apps on the devices for instruction in music or finance classes, she said.
‘Very unlimited access’
The policy allows “limited use of apps as part of instruction with the approval of the building or district administration. So there may be some big work to do for some of our new administrators coming in, especially at the middle school and high school level,” Stern said in reading the report.
Devices may be used on school property beyond the typical school day. “Devices are allowed at the discretion of teachers, club advisers during after-school activities and on buses,” Stern said.
“This is a big one,” board member Renee Cherfane said after hearing the presentation. “This is definitely a big one.”
Cherfane said she hoped the board also would consider a policy on the use of district-issued Chromebooks.
“What I’ve witnessed with this is that when they come home, there’s still very unlimited access to a lot of things on those devices,” Cherfane said of the laptop computers.
This story was originally published by NJ Spotlight News through the NJ News Commons.
