Dress Code Rewritten With Student Government ¶
The board revised Policy 5511, its dress code, after building administrators at both high schools worked with the RIH student government on the language. Souders said the revision was reviewed by the board attorney and identified as legally compliant. DeMarco said the changes remove a requirement that students obtain permission to wear head or hair coverings, and drop prescriptive rules on skirt length because the same garment "can be worn on a few different body types and it might hit slightly different on one body type versus another body type."
Resident Presses Board on Restraint and Seclusion Policy ¶
Judy Sullivan of Oakland asked the board to reconsider Policy 5561, on physical restraint and seclusion for students with disabilities, urging it to remove mechanical restraints and to apply the policy to all students. "That feels wrong. It feels discriminatory," she said of limiting it to students with disabilities. Souders said the revision adopted Aug. 24 only requires reporting of restraint and seclusion incidents through the state Student Safety Data System and "does not represent an expansion of the district's use of restraint or seclusion." She said the corresponding regulation was not revised at the same time because the district's policy vendor issued no updated version, and the committee will take it up Sept. 10.
$1.6 Million Plan Would Bring Special Education Students Back In District ¶
The finance and facilities committee reviewed a proposed New Horizons Center that would convert 3,700 square feet of former Board of Education space beneath Ramapo High School into a transition program for special education students ages 18 to 21, with kitchens, independent living spaces and career readiness areas. John Kinney, reporting for the committee, said the roughly $1.6 million renovation is intended to reduce reliance on out-of-district placements. Out-of-district placements have already fallen from 50 students to 33 over three years.
Enrollment Diverges Between the Two High Schools ¶
DeMarco reported projected district enrollment of 1,791 students, with Ramapo opening at 1,083 and Indian Hills at 708. Since the 2024-25 school year, Indian Hills enrollment has risen about 6 percent while Ramapo's has fallen about 7 percent, an overall district decline of 2.3 percent. She said the shifts inform staffing, class size, programming and facilities decisions.
Superintendent Given Five-Year Contract ¶
Board President Helen Koulikourdis opened the meeting by announcing the board is renewing DeMarco's contract for five years, saying it reflects confidence in her leadership and "the positive direction of our district." A board member said during open discussion that the board's deliberation on the extension "lasted moments, not minutes, because the support for extending your contract was unanimous and immediate."
Education
Ramapo Indian Hills Adopts Phone Ban, Skipping Its Second Reading
Students return Sept. 8 to rules already in force: phones powered off and in a backpack all day, with a graduated discipline ladder behind them.
Ramapo Indian Hills students returning Sept. 8 will find a cell phone ban already in force — and the Board of Education set aside one of its own procedural rules to make sure of it.
At its Aug. 24 meeting, the board adopted Policy and Regulation 5516, "Student Use of Internet-enabled Electronic Communication Devices," after a single reading. District policies normally require two, so the board suspended the bylaw imposing that requirement — just for this one policy.[1] Superintendent Shauna DeMarco said the approach was chosen "so that the state required bell-to-bell expectations, particularly regarding cell phones, are in place when students return."[2] A second reading would have pushed adoption to the board's next meeting, Sept. 28, three weeks into the school year.[3] The policy passed 8-0, with one member absent, as part of a combined motion covering dozens of unrelated items.[4][5]
The policy applies only to the regional high school district, which serves Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes and Oakland students in grades 9 through 12. Wyckoff's K-8 district keeps its own separate rules on electronic devices.
What the rules say
Students keep physical possession of their phones rather than surrendering them to a classroom holder — the approach the district settled on in July, when its policy committee had been weighing clear storage pockets. But possession is not use. "Students will retain possession of their devices, but those devices are to be powered off, stored away, and out of sight during the school day," DeMarco said.[6] Audrey Souders, who chairs the policy committee, was more concrete: devices "must remain powered off and stored in a student's backpack throughout the day."[7]
The ban runs bell to bell — the full school day, including lunch, passing periods and study halls — under a state law the New Jersey Department of Education confirmed in July it would enforce without carve-outs for non-instructional time.[8]
Who is exempt
The district's implementation guidance lists seven categories:[9]
- IEP accommodations
- Section 504 plans
- Documented medical conditions, such as monitoring blood glucose
- Translation for English language learners where no district-issued alternative is available
- Students who are primary caregivers for a family member
- Instructional needs with no reasonable alternative, as authorized by a principal or the superintendent
- Situations required by law, or arising during an active emergency
Parents request one through a device exception request form on the district's site.[9]
What happens on a violation
The regulation sets a graduated response, and the count shifts from a single classroom to the whole school at the fourth offense.[10]
| Offense | Counted within | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| First | Same class | A "neutral whole-class or individual reminder" to power off and store the device; no discipline or referral |
| Second | Same class | Teacher addresses it privately and notifies the parent or guardian |
| Third | Same class | Referral to the assistant principal; device secured "for the remainder of the day," returned at dismissal unless a parent pickup is required |
| Fourth | All classrooms | Administrative conference, plus a written parent notice that must be signed to confirm receipt |
| More than four, or one serious violation | All classrooms | "Prohibited from bringing an internet-enabled device on school grounds during the school day" for the rest of the school year |
How you reach your child
The district has since posted emergency guidance, but it describes safety infrastructure — alert systems, cameras, hallway monitors and on-campus law enforcement officers — rather than a way for a parent to reach a student. On devices it says only that students "retain direct access to them in an emergency," and directs questions to the District Safety Office or a school's main administration.[11]
The state's July guidance asks schools to determine "the most effective methods for families to communicate with students during the regular school day" — naming a phone number, student email account or messaging portal — and to inform families of the options at the start of the year, reserving the main office for when "immediate contact is necessary."[8]
The district held a webinar for families on Aug. 25 and has posted a recording.[13] DeMarco framed the ban as being about attention rather than devices: "The purpose is not to simply remove phones. It is to reduce distraction so that we can increase attention, conversation, connection, and learning."[12]
Every claim in this article is drawn from public Wyckoff records. To dispute a fact, request a fact-check, or ask that personal information be removed, contact the ombudsman.