District policy · 2026-2027
Union County Vocational-Technical Schools
Union County · County vocational district · Grades 9-12
Last verified · policy year 2026-2027
Stricter than the state
Read this entry with one caveat
Recorded as stricter than the state minimum for an unusual reason: it closes the academic-use door the statute leaves open. “Personal devices may not be used for instructional purposes, even with teacher permission, unless specifically approved by an administrator.” The statute restricts non-academic use; this handbook restricts academic use as well.
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 oneOff and away in the student's own bag
Phones stay powered off in the student's own backpack or bag. Nothing is collected.
"Students are encouraged to secure personal devices in their lockers. Any personal device kept with a student must remain powered off and completely away throughout the school day." Lockers are encouraged rather than required.
What happens if the rule is broken
The device is turned over to the Main Office, with further action under the district's progressive discipline procedures. Repeated violations may mean loss of privileges, detention, a requirement to hand the device in each morning, or parent pickup.
Asking for an exception
The statute names what a policy must accommodate“Exceptions may be made for documented medical needs, IEPs, 504 Plans, or other circumstances approved by the administration.”
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 summarisedStudents are not permitted to power on, display, access, or use personal internet-enabled devices during the school day, from the opening bell through dismissal. This includes, but is not limited to, cell phones, smartwatches, AirPods, wireless earbuds, tablets, personal laptops, and other devices capable of accessing the internet, communicating, recording, or capturing images.
Union County Vocational-Technical Schools · read · Open the document
Everything else on this page is our reading of Union County Vocational-Technical Schools’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.
Sources
1 primary, 0 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
Student Handbook 2026-2027, section 1.5 Personal Internet-Enabled Devices
Union County Vocational-Technical Schools · checked
Personal devices may not be used for instructional purposes, even with teacher permission, unless specifically approved by an administrator.