Happy New Year, Edison High! New Jersey’s very own Governor, Phil Murphy, has welcomed the new year with a new phone ban bill, urging school districts to ban phone usage during school hours, but not before trying to convince the adults in the room that the AI videos they saw of fruit advising not to store them in the fridge, are, in fact, very real.
Murphy’s bill, attempting to reform the school phone policy, was signed at Ramsey High School—in a room full of 35 parents, all of whom were doomscrolling on Instagram rather than listening to the monumental change—and will take effect during the 2026–2027 school year.
Around Edison High School, staff and students have already practiced what classrooms will look like once the bill takes effect, with the exception of certain staff members scrolling away while guarding the bathrooms. With this level of determination from students, teachers have noted a rise in participation, awareness, and decorum during lessons.
“Oh yeah, whenever I’m not turned around and writing on the board but facing the class, students conform to the rules: sitting up straight, phones away, Airpods away, and with full attention to what I teach,” said Ms. Cluel-Ess.
The new phone bill has expanded students’ abilities, teaching them new ways to do things. Instead of the classic ‘phone behind laptop’ or ‘phone on lap,’ students have expanded their creativity on how to hide their cellular devices, which has furthermore brought students together.
“The other juniors, seniors, and I have come together to help the incoming freshmen learn to sneak around the phone bill,” said student body president, Fone-Addyct ‘26. “We’re hoping they maintain our legacy while jamming out to music played on their hidden AirPods.”
The positive effects of the phone ban bill, like the expansion of creativity, the deepening of bonds between students, and a return to more old-school styles of cheating, reflect the vision that Murphy and teachers have for interpersonal skills and resourcefulness in the upcoming school year. Still, opinions are not so unanimous, with various students disapproving of this effort.
If you hear screaming in the hallways, then it is probably not an AP kid groveling for extra points at the end of the marking period, but rather students arguing against the ban bill, especially underclassmen who will be more targeted by the restriction.
“The upperclassmen won’t really be affected by this, and it ultimately affects us, the students who have the self-control to keep our phones off and are instead—wait, give me a minute…I just need to check this Snap—worried about real emergencies that might mandate us to use a cellular device, but we won’t have any,” said Freshm Eng ‘29. “I think that the district is afraid we’ll go full on Fahrenheit 451 about books, which we won’t, because there is still something majestic about words on a page, rather than words on a screen.”
Though unanimous student opinions regarding the phone ban bill have overwhelmed Edison High School, as well as public opinion, district administration Twitter accounts reveal a strong, affirmative stance in favor of the ban bill.
“I think Governor Murphy’s initiative is revolutionary. For the 2026–2027 year, I am hoping to see more engaged students and fewer phones in the classrooms, including from my own staff,” posted Admin Mr. Ross Boss.” Though, I will miss confiscating phones, keeping them in the office, and taking selfies or prank calling restaurants. I hope Murphy takes on the policies of my favorite time of day next: hall sweeps!”
