District policy · 2026-2027
Sussex County Technical School District
Sussex County · County vocational district · Grades 9-12
Last verified · policy year 2026-2027
Read this entry with one caveat
The flyer states that devices are allowed after the 2:05 PM bell. It does not say anything about the time before the 7:50 AM start, so “before and after school” here rests on the after-school half only. The superintendent’s letter also notes that the board policy itself was to be “finalized and sent out following the BOE meeting on 8/26/26”, so what is recorded here is the district’s stated implementation rather than the adopted policy text.
Period by period
2 of 6 not yet verifiedEach row is either something this district’s own document says, or an explicit admission that we have not found it. We never infer one period from another. Passing time, lunch and study hall, the three periods the statute never mentions, are marked with an amber rule.Q8
- Class time
- Not allowed
- Phones and other personal internet-enabled devices are prohibited.Instructional time. Restricted under the statute itself.
- Passing timeNot named in the statute
- Not allowed
- Phones and other personal internet-enabled devices are prohibited.Between classes. NJDOE guidance restricts it; the statute never mentions it.
- LunchNot named in the statute
- Not allowed
- Phones and other personal internet-enabled devices are prohibited.On-campus lunch. NJDOE guidance restricts it; the statute never mentions it.
- Study hallNot named in the statute
- Not allowed
- Phones and other personal internet-enabled devices are prohibited.Study hall. NJDOE guidance restricts it; the statute never mentions it.
- School bus
- Not yet verified
- We have not found a source that states this district's rule for this period. We have not guessed one.State guidance permits phones on buses unless the district goes further. A district rule here is stricter than the state floor.
- Before and after school
- Not yet verified
- We have not found a source that states this district's rule for this period. We have not guessed one.State guidance permits phones outside the school day unless the district goes further.
How phones are stored
A local choice, not a state oneLocker or collected bin
Phones are left in a hall locker or handed in to a central bin.
"All internet-enabled devices (phones, smartwatches, earbuds, tablets) must be stored in your locker for the full school day. Leaving devices at home or in the car works too — just not in a pocket, bag, or desk."
What happens if the rule is broken
“A first violation results in device confiscation and a referral to the Vice Principal’s Office and will require the student to serve a 1-hour detention. Repeated infractions will carry escalating consequences, which will require a parent or guardian to physically pick up the device from the school and may result in further disciplinary consequences.”
Asking for an exception
The statute names what a policy must accommodateThe district says the law allows “specific and very limited exceptions” in accordance with NJDOE guidance and district policy, points families to the NJDOE FAQ, and asks that exception requests go to SCTS administration. The flyer names medical needs and emergencies.
The statute itself names circumstances a policy must accommodate, including an IEP, a 504 plan, a documented health plan, translation needs, certain caregiving responsibilities, and emergencies.s.2.b(3)-(5)
In the district’s own words
Quoted exactly, not summarisedThis applies from the first morning bell until the final dismissal bell, including during lunch periods, study halls, and class transitions.
Sussex County Technical School District · read · Open the document
Everything else on this page is our reading of Sussex County Technical School District’s policy. This is the policy. We quote rather than paraphrase so you can check us against the document instead of taking our word for what it says.
The highlighted words are the district’s, not ours. They are the periods the statute never names, and this district wrote them into its own rule.s.2.b(2)
Sources
1 primary, 1 corroboratingNothing on this page can be published without at least one primary source attached to it. That is enforced by the database, not by a habit.
District decisionPrimary source
Cell Phone-Free Schools Initiative: New Jersey State Law, Effective September 3, 2026
Sussex County Technical School District · August 20, 2026 · checked
Remember: Devices must be stored in lockers — not pockets, backpacks, or desks.
District decisionCorroborating source · reporting, not an official document
Updated Student Electronics Policy and Disciplinary Procedures
Sussex County Technical School District · August 20, 2026 · checked
Beginning on the first day of school, all personal internet-enabled devices, including smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, smart glasses, and wireless earbuds, must be turned off and stored in the student’s locker for the entirety of the school day.