Not instruction
During an emergency
The statute requires every district policy to address emergencies and perceived threats of danger. In practice this means following staff direction: during a lockdown, students are told to avoid unnecessary communication unless directed otherwise. Families are asked to contact the main office rather than the student.s.2.b(4)Emergency CommunicationsQ5
The statute makes every district write a rule for this, but it does not write the rule, so what applies in an emergency is set by your district, not by the State.
We do not dispute this one. It is here because the rules for it are easy to get wrong, not because we think it should change.
The passage that governs this period
Quoted, not summarisedThe guidelines shall, at a minimum … address permitting student use of cell phones in the case of an emergency or in response to a perceived threat of danger…
Read the verb: the guidelines must address emergency use. That is a duty to write a rule, not a rule. The Department’s guidance says districts decide “when and how mobile devices may be used, if at all, during emergencies.” So this one is not the same in every district.s.2.b(4)Emergency Communications
Where this answer comes from
Every one links to the originalNew Jersey Legislature, P.L.2025, c.195: An Act concerning student use of internet-enabled devices, Approved January 8, 2026, s.2.b(4)
New Jersey Department of Education, Guidance for Schools on Student Use of Internet-Enabled Devices, Revised January 2026, Emergency Communications
New Jersey Department of Education, Guidance for Schools on Student Use of Internet-Enabled Devices: Frequently Asked Questions, July 2026, Q5