District policy · 2026-2027
West Essex Regional School District
Essex County · Regional high school district · Grades 7-12
Last verified · policy year 2026-2027 · policy 5516 · adopted August 19, 2026
Read this entry with one caveat
One of the few districts here that spells out the statutory off-campus carve-out: seniors who leave for the high school's open-campus lunch may use their devices while off school grounds, and must store them again on return.
Period by period
All 6 verified from a sourceEach 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
- Allowed
- The policy permits device use during this period.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
- Allowed
- The policy permits device use during this period.State guidance permits phones outside the school day unless the district goes further.
How phones are stored
A local choice, not a state oneVaries by school
Different schools in the district use different storage methods.
Grades 7-8 keep devices turned off in a backpack, locker or other bag all day. Grades 9-12 do the same but also follow teacher-managed device storage procedures during class periods.
By grade: For grades 7-8 this is largely a continuation of existing middle school practice. For grades 9-12 it is a change: devices may no longer be used during passing periods, study periods or lunch.
What happens if the rule is broken
Progressive discipline that increases for repeated offences and may include confiscation of the device, parent or guardian pickup, detention, suspension, social probation, and other appropriate disciplinary measures.
Asking for an exception
The statute names what a policy must accommodateExceptions are available for IEPs, 504 plans, documented health needs, translation services, certain caregiver responsibilities, emergencies and other circumstances permitted under the policy. A parent or guardian submits a written request with supporting documentation to the child's building principal.
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 summarisedBell-to-bell means the entire school day, from the opening bell through the dismissal bell, including passing periods, study halls, and lunch.
West Essex Regional School District · read · Open the document
Everything else on this page is our reading of West Essex Regional 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, 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
Updated Electronic Device Policy: Grades 7-12
West Essex Regional School District · August 20, 2026 · checked
Before/after school and buses: Students may use personal devices on the school bus while traveling to and from school and on school grounds before the regular school day begins and after it ends.