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Not Class Time

The citation registry

Every claim,
and where it came from.

Every factual claim on this site carries a small marker linking here. The markers are checked when the site is built: a citation pointing at a source that is not in this registry stops the build rather than shipping a broken footnote. That is the whole reason this page exists.

Registry status

Sources cited
4939 of them primary: the statute and the Department's own documents.
Overdue for re-checking
0Every source has been opened by a person within the last 180 days.
Page built on
The “days ago” figures below are counted from this date, not from today.

A source is flagged once it has gone more than 180 days without a person opening the link and confirming it still says what we say it says. Not a script pinging the URL. A person reading the document.

The registry

39 primary · 10 secondary

Primary sources come first: the statute and the Department’s own documents. Where we have a text extract committed alongside the site, it is named, so a claim can be checked against the exact wording we read rather than a later revision of a government web page.

District policyPrimaryDistrict decision

Policy 5516: Student Use of Internet-Enabled Devices

Hopatcong Borough Board of Education · Created February 2002; edited August 2026

One district's implementation of the bell-to-bell requirement, cited as a worked example of what a reader will find in their own manual. The number 5516 is stable across the districts we checked, but the TITLE has changed twice: older manuals read 'Use of Electronic Communication and Recording Devices (ECRD)', a 2025 generation reads 'Use of Electronic Communication Devices', and the 2026 rewrite reads 'Student Use of Internet-Enabled Devices'. Search by number and by title. Also check R 5516 and 5516.01.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
nj-policy-5516-example
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
District policyPrimaryDistrict decision

Bylaw 0167: Public Participation in Board Meetings

Hopatcong Borough Board of Education

0167 is the bylaw number to look for in a New Jersey policy manual: it sets the per-speaker time limit, whether you sign in beforehand, and what you must state before speaking. Cited as an example, not a statewide rule: across districts we read, per-speaker limits ranged from three to five minutes, some require sign-in before the meeting and some do not, and most ask for name and municipality rather than a street address. A minority of districts number this in the 9000 series instead, so search by title as well.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
nj-bylaw-0167-example
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
District policyPrimaryDistrict decision

Policy 2415.05: Student Surveys, Analysis, Evaluations, Examinations, Testing, or Treatment

Mendham Township Board of Education · Adopted December 17, 2013; revised March 22, 2022

One district's adoption of the mandated model policy, cited as a concrete example rather than as a statewide rule: most New Jersey districts use the same numbering, but each board may accept, reject or modify a model. Its closing paragraph directs the Superintendent or designee to ensure compliance with N.J.S.A. 18A:36-34 and Policy 9560 'before students are required to participate in any academic or nonacademic survey'. Note what it does NOT say: there is no clause in this policy requiring board or superintendent APPROVAL of a survey, and we do not claim there is one.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
nj-policy-2415-05
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
District policyPrimaryDistrict decision

Policy 9560: Administration of School Surveys

Mendham Township Board of Education · Adopted February 25, 2014; revised March 22, 2022

The companion mandated policy carrying the New Jersey requirements: the board 'shall ensure school surveys are administered in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:36-34 and 18A:36-34.1 and this Policy'. Cited as an example of local implementation, from one district's published manual.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
nj-policy-9560
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimaryState guidance

Guidance for Schools on Student Use of Internet-Enabled Devices

New Jersey Department of Education · Revised January 2026

Issued under P.L.2025 c.195 s.2.a by Commissioner Kevin Dehmer. Introduces the 'bell-to-bell' framing, which does not appear in the statute. Contains the grade-band recommendations (K-5, 6-8, 9-12), storage options, exceptions, and emergency communication sections.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njdoe-guidance-2026-01
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
Text extract in the repo
docs/research/njdoe-guidance-jan2026.txt, committed so that a claim can be checked against the exact text we read, not a later revision of the page.
State FAQPrimaryState guidance

Guidance for Schools on Student Use of Internet-Enabled Devices: Frequently Asked Questions

New Jersey Department of Education · July 2026

Q8 states that devices may not be used during on-campus lunch, study hall or time between classes. Q14 permits use on school buses and Q15 permits use during off-campus open lunch, both unless a district restricts further.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njdoe-faq-2026-07
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
Text extract in the repo
docs/research/njdoe-faq-july2026.txt, committed so that a claim can be checked against the exact text we read, not a later revision of the page.
State guidancePrimaryState guidance

Student Digital Wellness

New Jersey Department of Education

NJDOE landing page indexing the guidance, FAQs, the family letter template, and the 2025 Social Media Commission reports.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njdoe-digital-wellness
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

Contact Us

New Jersey Department of Education · Page last updated July 23, 2026

Gives the department mailing address (PO Box 500, Trenton, NJ 08625-0500) and main phone (609) 376-3500. It is a directory of topic-specific email addresses, NOT a general contact form. There is no all-purpose NJDOE web form. Note the path: /education/contact/ without /about/ returns 404.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njdoe-contact
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

Office of the Commissioner

New Jersey Department of Education

Names Dr. Lily Laux as Commissioner, with no 'Acting' qualifier, and publishes commissioner@doe.nj.gov. Kevin Dehmer, who issued the January 2026 guidance, stepped down on 2026-02-04; Laux was nominated by Governor Sherrill and confirmed by the Senate on 2026-02-24. The page also states that the Commissioner 'suggests rules and regulations for state board consideration', which is the division of labour that makes guidance the Commissioner's own document and Title 6A the State Board's.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njdoe-commissioner
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimaryState guidance

Release of Updated Guidelines on Student Use of Internet-Enabled Devices

New Jersey Department of Education · January 28, 2026

The broadcast that transmitted the revised guidance to districts. It is the ONLY published NJDOE document that gives an inbound address for this subject: 'Questions regarding the updated Guidelines may be directed to PhoneFreeSchools@doe.nj.gov.' Note the framing: questions, not comments. Neither the guidance nor the FAQ contains any contact address at all.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njdoe-broadcast-2026-01-28
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

New Jersey State Board of Education

New Jersey Department of Education

Thirteen members appointed by the Governor with Senate consent, six-year terms, plus a non-voting student representative selected annually by the New Jersey Association of Student Councils. 'The State Board adopts the administrative code', i.e. N.J.A.C. Title 6A. It did not adopt and cannot amend the device guidance, which P.L.2025 c.195 s.2.a assigns to the Commissioner alone.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njdoe-sboe
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

State Board of Education: Public Testimony

New Jersey Department of Education

The sign-up procedure, quoted verbatim on /take-action/contact-njdoe: register online or call 609-376-9071; registration closes at noon on the Thursday prior; five minutes per speaker; bring four copies. Open-topic sessions are held in January, May and September. Written comments go to stateboardoffice@doe.nj.gov or State Board Office, PO Box 500, Trenton, NJ 08625-0500. A testimony notice is issued at least two weeks before a meeting.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njdoe-sboe-testimony
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

State Board of Education: Meeting Schedule

New Jersey Department of Education

2026-2027 public business meetings and testimony sessions, held at 100 Riverview Plaza, Trenton. Business meetings begin at 9 a.m.; testimony sessions begin 30 minutes after the business meeting concludes, and are not held every month. We link this page rather than reprinting the dates, which change.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njdoe-sboe-schedule
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

The Administrative Code Adoption Process

New Jersey Department of Education

NJDOE's own statement of the difference that matters for this site: only the steps beginning with publication in the New Jersey Register are required by the Administrative Procedure Act, and those steps carry a written public comment period ('the public has a 60-day period to submit comments to the state agency') plus a published comment/response form at adoption. None of it applied to the device guidance, which was never proposed as a rule.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njdoe-code-process
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

Submit a Petition for Rulemaking

New Jersey Department of Education

How a member of the public files a petition under N.J.A.C. 6A:6-4.1: a Microsoft Form, or email to the Office of the State Board. This page gives statebd@doe.nj.gov while the rule text and the contact page give stateboardoffice@doe.nj.gov; both appear on official NJDOE pages and we could not determine which is authoritative, so the site says to use both.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njdoe-rulemaking-petition
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

N.J.A.C. 6A:6, Controversies and Disputes (incl. Subchapter 4, Rulemaking)

New Jersey Department of Education

N.J.A.C. 6A:6-4.1(a) limits a rulemaking petition to asking the State Board to 'adopt a new rule or amend or repeal an existing rule set forth in Title 6A'. That is the load-bearing limit: a petition cannot amend a guidance document, because guidance is not in Title 6A. 6A:6-4.2 sets the 60-day deadline for the Board to deny with written reasons, grant, or refer.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njac-6a-6
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

Student Representative to the State Board of Education

New Jersey Department of Education

The one designed student channel into the State Board. Selected through the New Jersey Association of Student Councils, serves twelve months as a non-voting member, and presents to the Board at each public meeting. We link the page rather than printing the current holder's name, because they are a minor.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njdoe-sboe-student-rep
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

New Jersey School Directory

New Jersey Department of Education

Search public districts by county, keyword or district code at /directory/pub. Returns the board of education's address, the district website, the superintendent and the board secretary. IMPORTANT: the intuitive URL nj.gov/education/directory/ returns 404. This is the working one.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njdoe-school-directory
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
StatutePrimary

General Assembly Rules, 222nd Legislature (2026-2027)

New Jersey General Assembly

Rule 10:9 requires five days' notice of a committee agenda. Rule 18:1(f) is the only hard advance deadline found anywhere in New Jersey: at a formal Assembly public hearing, 'each witness … shall file with the committee, at least three days in advance of the hearing, a written statement of proposed testimony', waivable by the chair. Like the Senate Rules, silent on witness age.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
nj-assembly-rules-222
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

Citizen's Guide to OPRA, 5th edition

New Jersey Government Records Council · October 2024

Post-amendment guidance from the agency that adjudicates OPRA disputes. On who may request: 'Anyone may file an OPRA request!' No age requirement appears anywhere in OPRA, in N.J.A.C. 5:105, or in this guide. The GRC also warns that verbal requests are never OPRA requests.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
grc-citizens-guide
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

Requesting Government Records: model OPRA request form

New Jersey Government Records Council

Every public agency must adopt the GRC's official request form under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(f). A letter or email works instead ONLY if it contains everything the adopted form asks for; if it does not, the custodian may deny it. GRC contact: 866-850-0511, Government.Records@dca.nj.gov.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
grc-request-form
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
StatutePrimaryState law

P.L.2025, c.195: An Act concerning student use of internet-enabled devices

New Jersey Legislature · Approved January 8, 2026

Codified at N.J.S.A. 18A:36-40a and 18A:36-40b. Enacted as S3695/A4882. Contains no occurrence of 'lunch', 'meal', 'recess', 'passing' or 'study hall'. Verified by full-text search on 2026-09-06.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
pl2025-c195
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
Text extract in the repo
docs/research/PL2025-c195-statute-text.txt, committed so that a claim can be checked against the exact text we read, not a later revision of the page.
StatutePrimaryState law

P.L.2001, c.364: School surveys, certain, parental consent required before administration

New Jersey Legislature · Approved January 7, 2002

Codified at N.J.S.A. 18A:36-34. Bars a district from administering to a student 'any academic or nonacademic survey, assessment, analysis or evaluation' that reveals information in eight listed areas without prior written informed parental consent, requested at least two weeks in advance. Unlike the federal PPRA it has NO federal-funding condition, and it requires opt-in consent rather than notice and opt-out. Its list omits religion and adds social security number. Subsection c. is addressed at participation: 'A student shall not participate in any survey … that concerns the issues listed in subsection a. … unless the school district has obtained prior written informed consent.'

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njsa-18a-36-34
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
StatutePrimaryState law

P.L.2021, c.156: Voluntary survey for students with prior parental, guardian written notification

New Jersey Legislature · Approved July 2, 2021

Codified at N.J.S.A. 18A:36-34.1. Creates a notification-instead-of-consent route for an ANONYMOUS, VOLUNTARY survey on four health topics only: alcohol, tobacco, drugs and vaping; sexual behaviour and attitudes; behaviours contributing to injury or violence; and physical activity and nutrition. Notification must go out at least two weeks ahead and carry seven listed elements including a denial form. Results must be submitted to the Department of Education and the Department of Health. A phone-policy survey is not on this list, so this exception does not cover one.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njsa-18a-36-34-1
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

Find Your District

New Jersey Legislature

The official lookup. Enter a street address or click the map to get the one Senator and two Assembly members for that district. New Jersey has 40 districts. Newark and Jersey City are each split between two districts, which is the case where guessing from a town name goes wrong.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njleg-district-map
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

Legislative Roster of Members

New Jersey Legislature

Both houses on one page, filterable by municipality. There is no separate Senate-members page or Assembly-members page. The printable roster PDF, with every district office address and phone, is at https://pub.njleg.gov/publications/members/printable_roster.pdf and is headed '222ND NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE / ROSTER OF MEMBERS / 2026-27 Session'.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njleg-roster
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

Frequently Asked Questions

New Jersey Legislature

Source for two things the site relies on. First, the walk-in description of signing up: 'A member of the public may sign up to testify … by filling out a testimony slip at a committee meeting', submitted to a committee aide with copies of any written testimony, which sits awkwardly beside the Citizen's Guide's 'advance registration typically is required'. Second, the privacy point: 'testimony submitted to a legislative committee is a public record', while 'communications from constituents to legislators are not generally considered public records (NJSA 47:1A-1.1)'.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njleg-faq
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

Register to Testify for Committee Meetings

New Jersey Legislature

Lists meetings currently open for online testimony registration. Windows open per meeting rather than continuously. On 2026-09-06 the list was empty. The form collects name, email, phone, bill number and whether you are in favour or opposed. It has no age field and no date-of-birth field.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njleg-committee-registrations
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

Legislative Calendar

New Jersey Legislature

Where a bill being scheduled for a committee hearing becomes visible, roughly five working days ahead. This is the page to watch; there is no notification service for a specific bill.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njleg-calendar
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
StatutePrimaryState law

S3695 (2024-2025 session): bill history and sponsors

New Jersey Legislature

The bill that became P.L.2025 c.195. Primary sponsors: Senators Paul D. Moriarty (D-4) and Kristin M. Corrado (R-40); Assembly members Rosaura Bagolie (D-27), Cody D. Miller (D-4) and Carmen Theresa Morales (D-34). Introduced 2024-09-30 and referred to Senate Education; passed the Senate 35-0 on 2025-01-14; reported from Assembly Education 2025-03-10; substituted for A4882 and passed the Assembly 63-3-5 on 2025-12-22; Senate concurred 37-0 the same day. The identical Assembly bill A4882 is at /bill-search/2024/A4882.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njleg-s3695
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
StatutePrimary

Assembly Budget Committee Public Hearing, FY2026 State Budget: speaker listing

New Jersey Legislature · March 25, 2025

Cited for one narrow, important fact. Speaker 19 on the Legislature's own published list reads 'Patrick Collins, Student-Notre Dame High School, Diocese of Trenton'. That is evidence a high school student appeared before a New Jersey legislative committee. It is NOT a statement that minors may testify, and the document does not give his age. We could find no source stating a rule either way.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njleg-abu-testimony-2025
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
StatutePrimaryState law

P.L.2024, c.16: amendments to the Open Public Records Act (S2930, 2R)

New Jersey Legislature · Approved June 5, 2024; effective September 3, 2024

The 2024 OPRA rewrite, read as the session law with deletions bracketed. What actually changed: the seven-business-day clock stays for ordinary requests but becomes 14 for commercial ones; custodians gain a right to 'a reasonable extension' on notice within seven business days; requests may be anonymous, but an anonymous requestor cannot then file a complaint; no fee may be charged when the custodian simply points you to the record on the agency website; and attorney fees became discretionary in general but MANDATORY on a finding of unreasonable denial, bad faith, or a knowing and wilful violation. The GRC's own posted 'readable version' of the Act at nj.gov/grc/laws/act/act.pdf is still pre-2024 text. Do not cite it as current law.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
nj-opra-2024-c16
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

Making Your Voice Heard: Understanding the Public's Role in the Legislative Committee Process

New Jersey Legislature, Office of Legislative Services

The fullest official guidance on testifying, and the backbone of /take-action/contact-legislators. Key passages: 'The committee chair establishes protocol for public testimony … In some cases, pre-registration may be mandatory. Contact the committee aide to confirm registration procedures'; 'Provide the committee with a written copy of your testimony' (singular: no copy count is specified anywhere in New Jersey); 'Committee meetings are generally held on Mondays and Thursdays at the State House Annex'; and, on where a bill comes from, 'A legislator … may sponsor a bill individually or at the suggestion of a constituent'.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
ols-making-voice-heard
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

Citizen's Guide: An Overview for Civic Engagement at the New Jersey State House

New Jersey Legislature, Office of Public Information · Current as of February 17, 2026

States that 'advance registration to provide testimony typically is required and arranged by the committee aide', the stricter of the two accounts the Legislature publishes. Also carries legislative districts by municipality.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njleg-citizens-guide
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
StatutePrimary

Senate Rules, 222nd Legislature (2026-2027)

New Jersey Senate · Adopted January 13, 2026

Rule 22:2(a) is the operative guarantee: 'Citizens present who wish to be heard on a matter under consideration by the committee shall be afforded an opportunity to speak, subject to reasonable limitations as may be set by the chair.' Rule 12:3 requires five State working days' public notice of a committee agenda and bars reporting a bill that was not on it. A full-text search of these rules for age, adult, minor and child returns nothing about witnesses: the rules do not mention a witness's age at all.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
nj-senate-rules-222
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
StatutePrimaryState law

Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 to 10:4-21

State of New Jersey · L.1975, c.231, as amended

The full Act, read start to finish from the State's own PDF. The provision this site depends on is 10:4-12(a): a board of education 'shall be required to set aside a portion of every meeting … the length of the portion to be determined by the … board of education, for public comment on any governmental or school district issue that a member of the public feels may be of concern to the residents of the municipality or school district.' The amendment line reads 'L.1975, c.231, s.7; amended 2002, c.80; 2008, c.14; 2013, c.103, s.57'. The board-of-education duty came from P.L.2008 c.14, not from the original 1975 Act, which is a common misattribution. Also: 10:4-8(d) defines adequate notice as at least 48 hours giving time, date, location 'and, to the extent known, the agenda'; 10:4-18 requires an annual schedule by 10 January; 10:4-19 lets any person ask to be mailed notices, expiring each 31 December.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njsa-opma
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
State guidancePrimary

Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA): General Guidance (SPPO-21-01)

U.S. Department of Education, Student Privacy Policy Office · October 22, 2020

The federal agency's own plain statement of the split: consent applies where a protected-information survey 'is funded as part of a program administered by the U.S. Department of Education', while the notice-and-opt-out right covers surveys that are not.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
usde-ppra-guidance
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
StatutePrimaryState law

20 U.S.C. § 1232h: Protection of Pupil Rights

United States Code (govinfo) · 2023 edition

The federal PPRA. Subsection (b) requires consent for a protected-area survey administered 'as part of any applicable program', a program the U.S. Department of Education administers. Subsection (c), added by the 2002 No Child Left Behind amendments, extends notice-and-opt-out to protected-area surveys that are NOT federally funded, and gives parents the right to inspect 'a survey created by a third party before the survey is administered or distributed by a school to a student'. 'Third party' is not defined anywhere in the section.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
ppra-20usc1232h
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
ResearchPrimary

Cell Phone School Policies: Implementation, Perceived Impacts, and Student and Parent Beliefs, Data Tables and Methodology

University of Southern California, Center for Economic and Social Research · January 2026

Rapaport, Saavedra, Silver, Polikoff and Garland. Fielded on the Understanding America Study panel; 1,699 adults with a school-aged child and 364 teens aged 13-17 in traditional school settings, weighted to be nationally representative. Funded by the Overdeck Family Foundation. Every figure this site quotes was read directly off the report's own data tables, not from press coverage. NOTE: the cover page is printed "January 2025" while the body describes the 2025-26 school year and the URL path is /2026/01/. The cover date appears to be a typographical error for January 2026, and is recorded here as published rather than silently corrected.

Last checked by a person
(2 days ago)
Citation key
usc-uas-cellphone-2026
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
OrganisationSecondary

Question Wording

American Association for Public Opinion Research

Four pages on leading, double-barrelled and double-negative questions, with before-and-after rewrites. Produced with NewsU at the Poynter Institute. AAPOR's Best Practices page adds the line that matters most for an advocacy site running its own survey: surveys 'should not be used to produce predetermined results, campaigning, fundraising, or selling'.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
aapor-question-wording
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
OrganisationSecondary

BoardDocs (Diligent): board meeting and policy portal

Diligent Corporation

One of the two systems most New Jersey districts publish their policy manual through. District portals follow the pattern go.boarddocs.com/nj/<code>/Board.nsf/Public, where <code> is an opaque vendor code that cannot be guessed from the district name. Reach it from the district's own website. The Policies tab shows the 0000-9000 series tree and a search box that takes a policy number.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
boarddocs
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
StatuteSecondaryState law

N.J.S.A. 52:14B-4, Administrative Procedure Act, rulemaking procedure

FindLaw (New Jersey Statutes)

Subsection (f) creates the right: 'An interested person may petition an agency to adopt a new rule, or amend or repeal any existing rule.' Marked non-primary because this is a commercial reproduction: the New Jersey Register and the official N.J.S.A. are behind LexisNexis. Justia returned 403 when fetched.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
nj-apa-52-14b-4
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
OrganisationSecondary

Student Representative to the NJ State Board of Education

New Jersey Association of Student Councils

NJASC has elected the student representative since 1976, as one of its nine State Officers, elected each January for a term running July to June. The page invites students to contact the representative directly to share ideas and concerns, but obfuscates the address against scrapers. Reach NJASC by phone instead. This is the route in, and it is not an NJDOE application.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njasc-student-rep
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
OrganisationSecondary

A Quick Guide to the Board of Education Meeting

New Jersey School Boards Association

The association that trains New Jersey board members, on what a board must and need not do: boards 'are not required by law to post an agenda for each meeting. However, most do'; 'written policies may be adopted regarding time limits and sign-in procedures'; 'school boards are not required to respond to questions'; and a board 'cannot prohibit public comments based on subject matter' within the statutory scope. Also notes that 'students often attend or participate in meetings'.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njsba-boe-meeting-guide
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
OrganisationSecondary

Asked & Answered: What Are Limits on Speech During Public Comment?

New Jersey School Boards Association

Confirms the statutory duty in plain language ('boards of education are required under state law to have a portion of every meeting set aside for public comment on school district issues') and that a board 'may impose reasonable content-neutral restrictions on the time, place, and manner of speech'.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njsba-public-comment-limits
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
OrganisationSecondary

Sample Resolutions on Key Issues

New Jersey School Boards Association

The concrete answer to 'how does a board urge the state to do something'. NJSBA 'encourages local school boards to formally state their position on these issues by approving resolutions and sending them to the governor, legislative leadership, their local legislative representatives, to NJSBA, and other key leaders', and publishes downloadable templates in the format boards already use. A student asking their board for a resolution can point at this page.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
njsba-sample-resolutions
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
OrganisationSecondary

Writing Survey Questions

Pew Research Center

Pew's methods explainer on wording, question order, response options, acquiescence bias and social desirability bias, with worked examples showing how a few words move a result by seven points.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
pew-survey-questions
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
OrganisationSecondary

Strauss Esmay Associates: New Jersey school policy service

Strauss Esmay Associates, LLP

The other system. Strauss Esmay states it has worked with New Jersey schools since 1972 and serves 'more than 580 school districts', developing customised policy manuals. Public manuals sit at straussesmay.com/seportal/Public/districtpolicyTOC.aspx?id=<32-character district GUID>, which again must come from the district's own site. Policies and Regulations are separate documents: 5516 and R 5516.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
strauss-esmay
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.
ResearchSecondary

Besler v. Board of Education of West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, 201 N.J. 544 (2010)

Supreme Court of New Jersey · Decided May 17, 2010

The controlling New Jersey authority on speech during board public comment. Holds that 'the public comment period of a school board meeting is a public forum', that a board may impose reasonable content-neutral time, place and manner restrictions and may stop a speaker who is disruptive, off-topic, irrelevant or repetitious, but may not 'grant the use of a forum to people whose views it finds acceptable, but deny use to those wishing to express less favored or more controversial views', and the board carries the burden of showing a permissible purpose. Note two things people get wrong: the Court REVERSED the damages and remanded for remittitur, so this is not a $100,000 win; and the limited-public-forum framing appears in the DISSENT, not the majority. Marked non-primary because this is a mirror of the opinion hosted by an insurance fund; Justia and Leagle both returned 403.

Last checked by a person
(3 days ago)
Citation key
besler-2010
Snapshot
None yet. Government sites reorganise, so this is a gap rather than a decision.

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Four, and they bind us
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Where we want to say something we cannot source, we either leave it out or label it on the page as our reasoning or as unverified. Both labels appear on the opposing case page. How the whole checking process works is written up on the methodology page.