New Jersey is the latest state to ban cellphones during the school day in grades K-12

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RAMSEY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey on Thursday joined a growing list of states to limit students' cellphone use during the school day.

In the remaining days of his second term, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation requiring the state education commission and local school boards to come up with guidelines for the use of cellphones in schools for grades K-12. The new law specifically requires the prohibition of non-academic uses of internet-connected devices — including phones — during the school day.

Murphy, who will be succeeded by Democrat Mikie Sherrill this month, called for the ban early last year.

“We’re going to rid our classrooms of needless distractions, ” Murphy said, “and encourage our children to be more attentive, engaged during the school day.”

The prohibition is set to go into effect with the 2026-2027 school year.

Including New Jersey, 37 states and the District of Columbia now have laws or rules limiting phones and other electronic devices in school, although some won’t take effect until later.

Phones are banned throughout the school day in 19 of the states and the District of Columbia, although Georgia and Florida impose such “bell-to-bell” bans only from kindergarten through eighth grade.

There are seven states with some kind of guidance recommending local policy that is not a law, including Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Montana, South Dakota, Washington, and six states with no statewide law or guidance — Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, and Wyoming.

More states may take action this year. In Massachusetts lawmakers have partially passed a school-day ban, and legislators are newly proposing a school day ban in Kansas, which now only recommends that districts develop policies. In Georgia, where lawmakers passed a school-day ban last year for grades K-8, the state House speaker is now pushing to expand the ban to high schools.

Massimo Randazzo, a student at Ramsey High School where Murphy signed the bill, said the school had begun requiring students to store cellphones in pouches a year ago. Initially frustrated, students then noticed a positive change, he said.

“Instead of everyone rushing between classes, staring at screens, students actually started talking to one another. The space felt more social and more present,” he said.