Results of Student Personal Internet Enabled Device Ban by a student from West Windsor Plainsboro High School North after legislation (P.L.2025, c.195), and district policy #5516.

I am a Sophomore (Class of 2029) from West Windsor Plainsboro High School North, based on my data collection, here is what is happening right now for the first 2 months, especially in unstructured times, modified schedules, and more. For the first year of my freshman year when the student personal internet enabled device was so friendly and use was permitted, I am giving my data to what had changed in many ways.

I found out that the NJDOE is allowed to give grade differentiated rules and age appropriate guidelines instead of a one size fits all ban according to the lawmakers and their team, for future years they can make lunch, and all unstructured times customized, and to prove related things to it, here is my data for first 1.5 to 2 months of the 2026-27 school year.

In class time, the focus has been maximized and distractions have been minimized which is fantastic, only when few to medium few, or somewhat people violate the classroom policy, which can be given consequences individually. This ban is good for the classroom as it reduces social media distractions, but for unstructured times, I find it different…

During lunch periods, seniors have open campus privileges where they walk, and stand in the line with their cellphones on their hand, which also applies for study hall late arrival or early dismissal senior privileges, it leaves the gray area everywhere causing logistical nightmares for people who care about rules easily, and loss of autonomy. This is not only the problem, but it also affects the modified schedules making all gray zones, for example a pep rally schedule, or field trip schedules, it causes gray areas for people who care about rules. Not only that, on October 9, 2026, based on my observations I saw cellphone uses that teachers permitted for seniors taking memory pictures, etc, because most probably thought that the modified schedule last bell was 1:45 PM.

In Lunch, Study Hall, Sub Study, and Passing Periods, I see people wearing AirPods to decompress, stream music, check class schedules, text parents, and do more stuff that is age appropriate in my opinion but it just violates the policy. In the 2025-26 school year, when the law was not active, this was just right for us High Schoolers getting autonomy for unstructured times rather than the blanket ban, because I had my phone out in unstructured times, it has benefited my friends and I who follow all rules and guidelines in a very good way, until this state law going in effect on the 2026-27 school year. In my opinion there should be a ban limited to classrooms with a little more strict educational use only, because the purpose for this law was to remove social media distractions, and maximize student well being.

What happened in 2025-26 sub study in the theater when all the seniors went to the Disney trip? This is a good question for 2025-26 Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshmen to be asked, because we all had a load of hard work in a dark theater in West Windsor Plainsboro High School North, and getting the break and privilege for cellphones, etc was a best reward for us at the end, listening to music, and more, knowing the auditorium was super massively crowded on the week of Class of 2026 disney trip, this managed my overload, etc, especially when I had autonomy there. This even included the same in regular day lunch, study hall, etc when we had autonomy, the poor hard working students earned all of the privileges and now they can't because of this New Jersey state law which is kind of a problem. Autonomy in my opinion is a much safer and fair approach over high surveillance and unnecessary policing for cellphones, to avoid infractions. Even some of the staff think classroom improvements are acheived but lunch should allow them because think about seniors that do open campus, like most seniors would go out just to use phones if they are seniors, according to one of my teacher in a class as well.

Another teacher thinks lunch should allow while passing periods should not.

Input from my two Junior (Class of 2028) friends…

1. Christian Brooks ‘28 - “Hi everyone I just wanted to let you know that for the last 2 years in High School I used my phone and I had my phone in my pocket and I would text my Mom if I would need anything and if / needed my Mom help with anything. I would use my phone on a break, during lunch, and during Study Hall. Now that I can't have my phone with me in my pocket I get paranoid, anxious, and sometimes I feel like I don't have my phone at all even though it is in my backpack but l am used to having my phone in my pocket. This phone ban in New Jersey isn't good for us students at all. We need our phones just in case if any emergencies happen and we need our phones during if we take a break, during lunch, and during Study Hall again. We all don't like having a phone ban in school to be honest. I just want New Jersey to not phone at all schools in New Jersey again.”
2. Brogan Pool ‘28 - “I think that rules should be a bit balanced compared to the blanket bans, although I can figure it out, it kinda doesn't make sense to do a one size fits all approach.” His speech was similar to this.

Not only that, this one size fits all approach doesn't cause any well being, but it makes us rule followers more punished for our innocent behavior, and we all have to suffer watching the people bypassing the rules, this rigid bell to bell ban makes us rule followers punished, and makes the people who don't really care rewarded.

I understand a basic approach for this would likely be a storage that has schools collect all the personal internet enabled devices of students for school hours, but for the West Windsor Plainsboro High Schools that will be an extra punishment for us suffering, and more. Not only that, but it also will cause logistics traffic nightmares, more gray zones, anxieties, etc. I think in this case, the NJDOE should update guidelines for how there should be a classroom managed storage limiting to classes only unless granted explicit serious educational use by teachers, and the guidelines are clear. Also, if people bypass rules, making the honor system the stricter system would make things just worse, and I think the autonomy is better than the phone policing, teaching self-regulation for personal tech, and management before adulthood, knowing the NJDOE is allowed to change guidelines per real world data for following years.

Students who have needed plans such as accommodations IEP, or 504 Plans, documented health plans, or translation services get affected in unstructured times too with cellphone policing, etc, which is legally not fair per the federal laws, and civil rights.

As months come to date, this data will be updated per months.

Aahwan Mulani

West Windsor Plainsboro High School North 

Class of 2029 - Sophomore

For more info, look on this link:
https://njphoneban.com/