Once again, Gov. Phil Murphy has backtracked on education policies in deference to the state teacher union New Jersey Education Association.

Back in January Murphy said in his State of the State address, in a statement Chalkbeat described as bold, “Honestly, is it any surprise that the rise in smartphone usage has coincided with a growing youth mental health crisis? Of course not. I, for one, am not going to sit back as our kids suffer. Today, I’m officially announcing my support for a new proposal that would direct school districts across New Jersey to adopt policies banning cellphones in K-12 classrooms.”

Not so fast. In response, NJEA put out a statement largely supportive of the Governor’s education plan (more funding, no more half-day kindergarten, expanding pre-kindergarten) — with the exception of that statewide cell phone ban:

From NJEA’s statement in January:

 “We call on the New Jersey Department of Education to issue guidelines directing districts to work with parents and educators in each community and at each school level to determine what specific policy will best serve students’ academic, safety and mental health needs. Shared input and community buy-in will help ensure the success of those policies better than any one-size-fits-all ban imposed from above.”

In other words, no statewide edicts like other blue state governors in New York and California (although the Atlantic says we’re now more like a swing state). Instead, in accordance with NJEA’s instructions, last week the Department of Education complied, publishing a 13-page document called “Considerations for Establishing or Refining Policies for Cell Phone Use in Schools” that leaves the matter up to school districts.

From the first paragraph of the document:“[T]he New Jersey Department of Education has developed this set of guidelines to support districts in crafting thoughtful, inclusive, and age-appropriate policies based on research and best practices that allow for flexibility in local implementation.“

Just what NJEA ordered and right in line with Murphy’s history: After all, over the course of his two terms he has expanded teacher sick leave, eliminated teacher licensing tests, allowed union input into his selection of state Board of Education members, shepherded laws that require teachers to join NJEA, hired NJEA leaders for Governor’s Office positions, followed union Covid demands on school closures and masks in schools, shelved PARCC tests, and enacted a stealth moratorium on charter school expansions. Or, as Matt Friedman of Politico wrote, CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG, BUT I’M BEGINNING TO THINK THE NJEA HAS SOME SWAY WITH MURPHY.”

With cell phones it’s deja vu all over again. instead of the outright ban he mentioned in his State of the State, the DOE issues guidance that are more suggestions than mandates:

• School districts should pass policies that disallow students from carrying cell phones (“personal internet-enabled devices,” which include smart watches, iPads, smart glasses, ear buds) throughout the school day, including lunch and recess.
• If districts elect to allow students to bring phones to school, they should have staff members hold onto them throughout the school day or enforce a policy that has students store their cell phones in their lockers or in storage stations.
• Districts may relax restrictions for middle and high school students to permit device use during lunch periods, study hall, or transition times.

For context, twenty states throughout the U.S. have issued statewide cell phone bans for students in K-12 schools (with exceptions for some students with disabilities, those who are caregivers, and those who use phones as translation devices). Analysts tend to agree that students’ academic learning and mental health has suffered due to the proliferation of cell phones. “There’s lots of research,” says Thomas Toch of FutureEd, “to suggest that [phones] are very detrimental to students’ levels of concentration and undermine, for those reasons and others, their learning.”

Local control is a feature, not a bug, of NJ’s education landscape. Sometimes that is to the detriment of students and families.