For a lot of kids, back-to-school shopping means checking out the latest technological gadgetry. And for educators, that means new headaches as they seek to update and enforce their policies on gadgets in the classroom.

Sure, the internet has opened a wealth of research sources to students, and a cell phone is pretty handy in an emergency. But the beep that comes from a single Tamagotchi is enough to disrupt an entire class.

The little virtual pet from Japan is expected to make a comeback this year, and new gadgets, including Gizmondo from Tiger Telematics--a handheld console that includes GPS satellite tracking, a digital camera, and a gyroscope and can play digital music, movies, and video games--are just entering the scene.

"We went from a code of conduct that talked about tape recorders to CD players to an iPod. Each time technology improves, it creates a new problem for school districts," says Pat Ackley, principal at New Lebanon Junior-Senior High School in rural New York.

The school has specifically forbidden the Tamagotchi. "We don't allow toys. We'd say the same thing about pet rocks," Ackley says.

Young consumers tell The Zandl Group, a trend research firm, that when shopping for school this year they're most interested in "tech goodies," including Apple's iPod music player, Playstation Portables, and Nintendo Game Boys, according to Irma Zandl, the group's president.

Last year, the National Consumer Federation predicted that nearly half of families with school-age children would buy electronics and computer-related equipment for the new school year, and would spend more on that category than on traditional school supplies: $101 vs. $73.

Schools, however, discourage kids from toting much of this electronic gear in their backpacks.

The official policy at Westover High School in Fayetteville, N.C., is that everything from tape players to electronic games--all "sound-producing instruments or equipment"--is forbidden on school grounds and even buses between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

That hasn't stopped Micelli Bianchini from bringing his phone, which also holds his day planner, to school each day, and when he returns for senior year this fall he expects to be carrying an iPod, too. His friends are similarly equipped, he says.

"You can't let teachers see you use these things. They don't want you talking on your phone in the middle of class. Put it in your pocket and no one really bothers you," Micelli says.

The 17-year-old, who is ranked third in his class, recently led a successful community service project to collect supplies for an orphanage in Guyana. Without his cell phone and the laptop computer his parents gave him as a gift, he says, the Westover Kindness Project South America might never have happened.

"The computer, the phone, the day planner--you can't really communicate or coordinate without them," Micelli explains.