January 1, 1900

by Susan E. Inverso

What if you sent your son/daughter to school with a pager? What if you wanted your son/daughter to carry this pager because your work schedule made it difficult for you to contact your child or because you had an illness which required you to have the ability to contact your child at any time? If you sent your son/daughter to school with a pager for these reasons, would he or she be violating the law or the school's policy?

In 1989, the New Jersey State Legislature adopted N.J.S.A. 2C:33-19 which made it a disorderly persons offense for a student to knowingly carry any remotely activated paging device on school property at any time, regardless of whether school is in session or others are present. The purpose of this statute was to keep pagers out of the hands of young drug dealers and to prevent disruption in the classroom that may be caused by such a paging device. The legislative history indicates that paging devices have been used to communicate for illegal drug dealing transactions and to alert a party to the transaction about the possible arrival of police. According to the legislative history, beepers have become tools of the drug trade and have invaded our schools and classrooms often causing severe disruptions, particularly because fights would erupt in schools between students over expensive paging devices.

Pagers Are A Convenient Effective Means of Communication

However, despite these concerns, paging devices are also considered an effective way for parents to stay in contact with their children during the school day. With both parents working and the many after school activities available to students today, a paging device is a convenient and effective means of communication between parents and their children.

While there may be First Amendment problems concerning the Legislature's effort to restrict Freedom of Speech by passing this statute, a student is nonetheless permitted to bring a pager onto school grounds under limited circumstances. If, for example, the student is an active member in good standing of a volunteer fire company, first aid, ambulance or rescue squad and the student is required to respond to an emergency, the student may possess a pager on school grounds as long as he/she keeps a copy of the written authorization from the Chief Executive Officer of the volunteer fire company, first aid, ambulance or rescue squad while in possession of the pager. Furthermore, a student may possess a pager on school grounds if he/she obtains written permission from the school board, its delegated authority or the school principal in advance of bringing the pager to school. It should be noted, however, that the student must have a reasonable basis for possession of the pager in order to obtain this permission.

Cellular Phones Not Barred

It is interesting to note that the Legislature did not similarly limit the possession of cellular telephones in the statute. Cellular telephones serve a purpose similar to that of pagers, and in fact can cause more of a disturbance in the classroom than pagers. Today, cellular telephones have even a more widespread use than pagers, and typically cost more than a paging device.

The statute was not passed for the purpose of interfering with a parent's right to keep in touch with their child. And thus, a total prohibition of the use of paging devices goes too far in attempting to combat the problem of drug dealing among students. In order to protect your child from a possible disorderly persons violation, before your child is permitted to go to school with a pager, permission from the appropriate school official should be obtained. Alternatively, if your child is a member of a volunteer organization that requires a pager to respond to emergencies, your child should carry a written authorization from the head of that volunteer organization. If you are unable to satisfy either of these requirements, you may want to consider other options to communicate with your child remotely. But be careful, your child's school may have its own policy regarding pagers and/or cellular telephones. Even though the actions of your child may be in compliance with the statute, or if your child carries a cellular phone which is not prohibited by law, your child may be subject to disciplinary action if this conduct violates the school's own rules and regulations. Hill Wallack can offer advice to your family as to ways in which the harsh consequences of the statute and/or the school's policy can be avoided in today's world of modern technology and communication.

Susan E. Inverso is an associate of the firm where she is a member of the Litigation Division including the Professional Practices Group and the Administrative Law/Government Procurement Practice Group.