Millburn parents and residents can now sign up to help shape how the district handles artificial intelligence, screen time and digital wellness in classrooms, with registration open for a series of one-hour listening sessions.

The Millburn Township Public Schools posted the invitation on Thursday, Aug. 6, saying community members have been raising questions about educational technology for months. The sessions give families a direct channel to weigh in before the 2026-27 school year, the first year New Jersey's bell-to-bell phone ban takes effect.

The district's announcement does not list specific dates, times or locations for the sessions, describing only "several one-hour listening sessions." Parents interested in attending can register through a Google Form linked on the district's website.

Broader than the phone ban

The listening sessions are separate from the state-mandated cellphone restriction the Millburn Board of Education approved at its July 20 meeting. That policy bars students from using smartphones, tablets, smartwatches or any internet-enabled device during the school day, on buses and at school-sanctioned events.

"We don't have to love it, we just have to implement it," Superintendent Kate Diskin told the board at the July 20 meeting, according to TAPinto reporting.

But the new listening sessions go further. The district's Program Committee, chaired by board member Andrew Finkelstein, has been developing a broader instructional technology framework that covers how AI tools and screens are used for teaching, not just what students carry in their pockets.

Board members Jeffery Cassin, Asaf Farashuddin and Abby Speltz said at the July 20 meeting that they want flexibility to tailor technology policies to Millburn's students, teachers and community. The listening sessions will collect that local input before the framework is finalized.

How to register

Registration is open now. The district has not published session dates or confirmed whether the sessions will be held in person, virtually or both. Parents can find the Google Form registration link on the district website at millburn.org.

The district has not announced a deadline to register or when the Program Committee will present its technology framework to the full board.