Berkeley Heights students would lose phone access during the school day under a policy up for first reading Friday. Staff, meanwhile, would gain permission to photograph and record them during class or school-sponsored activities, for educational purposes, with a 72-hour upload-and-delete requirement.
The Berkeley Heights Board of Education meets Aug. 28 with revised Policy 5516 on the agenda. The proposal creates a "bell-to-bell" ban on internet-enabled devices for students. Devices must go in a backpack, locker or bag from the start of the school day until dismissal. Teachers could not incorporate students' personal technology into lessons; all digital work would use district-managed tools.
The same policy package grants school employees the right to photograph, audio record or video record students during classroom or school-sponsored activities for a "legitimate educational purpose." Staff would have 72 hours to upload recordings to district storage and then permanently delete them from personal devices.
Students, meanwhile, would remain generally prohibited from recording staff performing board-assigned duties without written approval, except during public school-sponsored activities.
John Migueis, who writes for NJ21st and spoke against the policy at a prior meeting, wrote in his Aug. 26 analysis: "And while we take away the ability of students to record the bureaucracy around them as an accountability measure we are giving staff the ability to snap pictures of them on their personal devices."
Migueis raised enforcement questions, asking how the district would verify deletions from staff phones, particularly when images automatically sync to cloud accounts.
The policy does include exceptions for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), 504 Plans, health needs, translation, family caregiving responsibilities, emergencies, legal requirements and situations in which no reasonable alternative exists. Parents would need to contact the school's main office to reach children during the day rather than calling or texting directly.
Bus use remains allowed. Students could also use devices on school grounds before and after the bell.
The proposal follows Gov. Phil Murphy's signing of a statewide school cellphone ban (S3695/A4882), which NBC New York reported requires all New Jersey districts to adopt strict device guidelines by the start of the next school year.
Other agenda items
The board will also consider a resolution urging state officials to address rising health-benefit costs. The resolution states that premium increases approaching 35% are recommended for active employees in the 2027 plan year and asks for greater local flexibility and transparency.
Thirteen policies advance to second reading and adoption, down from 14 at the June first reading. Policy 2200, covering curriculum standards, public access to pacing guides and evidence-based literacy, is missing from the August agenda with no explanation provided.
The Superintendent's report includes discussion of open campus for the Governor Livingston High School Class of 2027, though no written plan appears in the agenda materials and no vote is scheduled.
On the personnel side, the board will vote to approve James Heinegg as Interim Director of STEAM at $600 per day, not to exceed $61,800, retroactive to July 30. The position opened after the board voted 5-2 on June 25 to accept STEAM Director Kelly Curtiss's resignation.
The board will also approve $572,599 in federal grants and accept $26,010.64 in donations from the Highlander Booster Club, including funds for cheerleading uniforms and softball dugout roofing.
A second reading and adoption vote on the device policy would follow at a future meeting. No date has been set.
