Groundwork
Read the rule that actually applies to you
State guidance sets the floor. Your district writes the policy you actually live under, and it may be stricter. Before you argue about the rule, spend ten minutes finding out what yours says: it is almost certainly published online, free, without a login.
Why this is worth doing first
Half of what students believe about their school’s phone rule turns out to be a rumour about a different school. The written policy tells you which parts are state-mandated and which your own board chose: the storage method, the consequences, whether the bus is covered, how you request an exception.
It also stops you making an argument that does not apply. If your district went stricter than the state on buses or after-school activities, that is a local decision your board can revisit, unlike lunch.s.2.e
It exists, and you were meant to be told
A board of education shall adopt a policy concerning student use of internet-enabled devices during regular school hours, on a school bus, or during school-sanctioned events…s.2.d
detail protocols for communicating the board of education’s policy concerning student use of internet-enabled devices to students, their families, and teaching staff members.s.2.b(9)
So if you cannot find yours, that is a gap in how it was communicated, not a sign that you are looking in the wrong place.
Four steps
Find your district
Use the NJDOE School Directory and search by county, district keyword or district code. It gives you the board of education's address, the district website, the superintendent and the board secretary, all the people you might later need to write to. Note the URL: the obvious one, nj.gov/education/directory, returns a 404.source
Find the policy manual on the district site
Look for “Board of Education”, then “Policies” or “Policy Manual”. Almost every New Jersey district publishes the whole manual free and without a login, through one of two systems.
If it is BoardDocs
The address looks like go.boarddocs.com/nj/<something>/Board.nsf/Public. That <something> is a vendor code you cannot guess from the district name, so follow the link from the district's own website rather than trying to construct it. Once there, click the Policies tab, then type 5516 into the policy search box.source
If it is Strauss Esmay
The address looks like straussesmay.com/seportal/Public/districtpolicyTOC.aspx?id= followed by a long string of letters and numbers unique to your district. Again, get there from the district site. The manual is organised in series: 0000 bylaws, 5000 pupils. There is also a search box. Policies and Regulations are separate documents: 5516 and R 5516.source
Search for 5516, but expect one of three titles
New Jersey districts number this policy 5516, and every district we checked kept that number rather than creating a new one for bell-to-bell. What has changed is the title, twice, so searching for the words alone may miss it.source
| If your manual says | What it means |
|---|---|
| Use of Electronic Communication and Recording Devices (ECRD) | The older policy. Your board has not yet adopted the bell-to-bell rewrite, or the manual online is out of date. |
| Use of Electronic Communication Devices | An interim version. Also predates the bell-to-bell rewrite. |
| Student Use of Internet-Enabled Devices | The current one, written to comply with P.L.2025 c.195. This is the policy that governs your school day. |
Also look for R 5516, the accompanying regulation, which is where the operational detail usually lives, and 5516.01 Student Tracking Devices in districts that have one. And check 0167 while you are in there. That is the bylaw governing how you speak at a board meeting.source
If it genuinely is not published: OPRA
The Open Public Records Act lets anyone request a government record, and a board policy is one. Treat it as a last resort, not a first move. The law itself now prefers the website: no fee may be charged where a request is completed by directing you to a record already on the agency’s site.47:1A-5(e)
Anyone may file one. The Government Records Council’s own guide says so in as many words, and neither the statute nor the regulations impose any age requirement.source
What changed in 2024, and what it means for you
- How long they have
- Seven business days for an ordinary request. Fourteen if the request is for a commercial purpose. Yours is not. The custodian may also claim a reasonable extension, but must tell you within seven business days.
- Use their form
- Every agency must adopt the GRC’s official form. A letter or email works only if it contains everything the form asks for; if it does not, the custodian may deny it. A verbal request is never an OPRA request.
- Anonymity has a catch
- You may file anonymously, and that alone is not grounds for denial. But an anonymous requestor cannot then file a complaint if they are refused. If you want the record more than the anonymity, use your name.
- If you are refused
- You have 45 calendar days to file a denial-of-access complaint with the Government Records Council. There is no filing fee. For a board policy this should never arise.
Change this before you send it. Put this on your district's own form if they have one online, which they are required to. Ask for the policy by number as well as by all three possible titles, because a records custodian searching for the wrong words will honestly tell you there is no such record. And say you would rather be pointed at the website. That is faster for everyone and costs nothing.
[Submitted on the district's own OPRA request form, or by email containing everything the form asks for] To the Custodian of Government Records, [name] School District: Under the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., I request a copy of the following government records: 1. The board of education's currently adopted policy and any accompanying regulation governing student use of personal internet-enabled devices, adopted or revised to comply with P.L. 2025, c. 195. This is commonly numbered 5516, and may be titled "Student Use of Internet-Enabled Devices," "Use of Electronic Communication Devices," or "Use of Electronic Communication and Recording Devices (ECRD)." 2. Any regulation numbered R 5516 accompanying that policy. 3. The minutes of the board meeting at which that policy was adopted or last revised. I would prefer to receive these records by email as PDF attachments. If any of these records is already available on the district's website, please simply direct me to it: no fee applies where a request is completed that way. Name: [your full name] Address: [your address] Email: [your email] Phone: [your phone number] [The district's adopted form will also ask you to certify three things: whether you have been convicted of an indictable offence, whether the records are sought for a commercial purpose, and whether they are sought in connection with a legal proceeding. Answer them honestly: the certifications are made under penalty of law.]