The new statewide ban on cell phones in the classroom did not ring a bell with some Princeton High School students.
While students initially responded well to the bell-to-bell ban prohibiting cell phone use during the school day, compliance began to fall off a few weeks after school started, based on published reports in the PHS student newspaper and on Tap Into Princeton.
PHS Principal Cecilia Birge wrote to parents that the “honeymoon appears to be over,” according to the reports. Administrators seized more than 20 cell phones from students in the hallways on a single day for non-compliance with the new law that took effect for the 2026-27 school year.
Students had been reminded during morning announcements and through email reminders that cell phones had to be turned off and placed in their backpacks the minute they entered the school building in the morning and were to stay in the backpacks until they left at the end of the school day.
In a letter to PHS parents, Birge wrote that stepped-up monitoring of cell phone use throughout the building would be put into place and that any adult could report a violation. For repeated violations or more serious violations, penalties would be increased – up to and including suspension, she wrote.
The school district’s policy states that if a review of security cameras confirmed that a student was using a cell phone, the parents would be notified and the cell phone would be stored in the main office. It could be retrieved by the student at the end of the school day on a first offense. The student would be subject to one to three days of detention, but failure to attend detention could result in in-school suspension.
A second offense also would require parental notification. The cell phone would be stored in the main office and the parent or guardian would retrieve it. The student would be given one to two days of in-school suspension. The student could choose to take part in and agree to the use of a school-approved program or intervention designed to restrict cell phone use during school hours.
On the third and subsequent violations, the parents would be notified and required to attend a re-entry meeting. The cell phone would be stored in the main office and the parent or guardian would pick up the phone. The student would be given one to three days of out-of-school suspension. A re-entry process would require the student to participate in a school-approved program or intervention designed to restrict cell phone use during school hours and support compliance with the district’s cell phone policy.
The PHS policy states that if a student attempts to get around the cell phone use policy by bringing additional cell phones to school, it would be considered a third offense. It would trigger one to three days of out-of-school suspension and mandatory participation in a school-approved program or intervention.
Meanwhile in nearby Lawrence Township, Lawrence High School students had little trouble complying with the new statewide ban on cell phones in the classroom. The township is located between Princeton and Trenton.
LHS students have had two years to practice keeping their cell phones turned off during the school day, thanks to a Lawrence Township Public Schools policy that was adopted in August 2024. The “Away for the Day” ban on cell phones in the classroom took effect for the 2024-25 school year – two years ahead of the statewide ban.
Discipline for LHS students who violate the “Away for the Day” cell phone policy is similar to the PHS policy. The cell phone is confiscated and may be returned to the student on the first offense. For second, third and fourth offenses, it is confiscated and the parent or guardian retrieves the cell phone. Parents or guardians are notified each time there is a violation.
A second offense results in a minimum lunch detention, and a third offense results in Saturday detention. A behavior contract is developed with the student on a third offense. A fourth offense triggers a minimum of one day of in-school suspension.
Discipline for students who repeatedly fail to comply with the cell phone ban may result in additional in-school suspension days, the loss of extracurricular privileges and an administrative conference with the parents or guardians. An alternative school placement also may be considered.
