The ban announced in April will standardize and strengthen province-wide measures and mandatory learning, says the Ministry of Education
Ontario is banning cell phones in classrooms and vaping on school property with the start of the new school year.
The bans are among a package of measures announced last April.
“With their constant stream of notifications and pings, it’s no surprise to anyone that cellphones constantly grab our attention,” Minister of Education Jill Dunlop said Thursday. “This is why it was necessary to restrict cellphones in the classroom and enable students to restore focus on learning so they can achieve better academic outcomes.”
Here’s why the bans have been introduced and how Ontario schools will be enforcing them.
Q: What’s the evidence that cell phones negatively affect learning?
A: Benefits of removing cell phones from K-12 classrooms include reducing distractions, cyberbullying and stress.
“Multiple systematic reviews of studies conducted across many countries (including the U.K., China, Germany, Japan, Finland, Israel and the United States) have found that, for young people, excessive smartphone use was associated with an increased risk of depression and anxiety, high levels of perceived stress levels, and poor sleep quality and shorter sleep duration,” according to The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Last April, Ontario announced it would introduce “the most comprehensive plan in Canada” to reduce distractions in classrooms, calling the rise of vaping and cellphone distractions “alarming.”
Stephen Lecce, then the minister of education, called banning cellphone usage during class times and vaping in schools “the toughest policy in Canada.”
The province had announced a cellphone ban in 2019, but details were then left up to school boards. The new ban will standardize and strengthen Ontario-wide measures and mandatory learning, according to the government.
Q: Have other jurisdictions banned cellphones?
A: It’s happening all over the world. Quebec announced a ban on cellphones in classrooms as of Dec. 31, 2023. While speaking to reporters last May, education minister Bernard Drainville suggested there may be a need to go further and ban cellphones at all times.
France has announced it will run a trial ban in almost 200 secondary schools requiring students under 15 to hand over phones on arrival at school. If it’s effective, the ban will be rolled out more broadly.
Q: What does Ontario’s ban mean?
A: Students in kindergarten to Grade 6 will be required to keep phones on silent and out of sight for the entire school day, unless explicitly permitted by educators. For students in Grades 7 to 12, cellphones will not be permitted during class time unless explicitly permitted.
Social-media websites will also be removed from all school networks and devices, and report cards will include comments on students’ distraction levels in class.
Q: What are the details?
A: Local school boards have released details of exemptions, how teachers and school administrators will enforce the ban and what measures will be taken if students flout the rules.
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board rules say students can still bring cellphones to school, but the phones must be turned off or set to silent mode and stored out of view, such as in a bag or pocket.
In Grade 6 and under, cellphones can’t be used during the instructional day, including recess and nutrition breaks. Students in Grades 7 to 12 can use personal cellphones during breaks, spares and lunch. Principals may also choose to extend the restrictions to Grade 8. There are exceptions for education, health, special education and accommodation reasons.
In a letter to families, Ottawa Catholic School Board director of education Tom D’Amico said students in kindergarten to Grade 6 must keep cellphones silenced and out of sight all day unless they were allowed by teachers them for learning, health reasons or to support special education needs.
Students in Grades 7 to 12 must also keep their cellphones silenced and out of sight during class time unless allowed by teachers. Cellphones may be used outside instructional times, for example, during lunch and before and after school.
Q: What are the consequences for breaking the ban?
A: At the OCDSB, students who don’t comply may be asked to give their devices to teacher or school offices, to be returned at the end of the day. “Further progressive disciplinary action will be taken if students repeatedly disobey the restrictions in place,” the board said.
At the Catholic board, kindergarten to Grade 6 students contravening the ban must give their phones to staff members to be kept in a storage area. Scofflaws in Grades 7 to 12 will be asked to place those cellphones in a designated storage area. If students refuse to store their phones when asked to do so, they will be referred to the principal or vice-principal, “who may assign school consequences.”
Q: What about parents who wish to stay in contact with children during the school day, or students who must reach parents?
A: Call the main office, local school boards say.
“If it is an urgent or emergency situation, we will immediately notify your child,” the OCDSB said.
“Contacting your child during class time distracts them from their school work and the needed in-person interaction with their peers and educators,” D’Amico said in his message to parents. “If your child needs to contact you during the school day, they can access a phone in the school office.”
Q: Can students still access social media?
A: The Ministry of Education requires that social-media sites such as TikTok, Facebook, and Snapchat be blocked on school networks and on all school devices, but recognizes that students can still access social-media sites using their own devices or data plans.
Q: Are there legal questions around denying students access to their cellphones or seizing them?
A: There could be. Disability stakeholder groups such as the Canadian National Institute for the Blind have stressed the importance of allowing students to use their phones during class time for accessibility reasons.
Meanwhile, cellphones are expensive pieces of equipment that may contain private information.
In a paper on litigation due to issues such as cyberbullying, cheating and searches, published in the Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, the authors pointed out that Sections 7 and 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protected all citizens against unjustified intrusions on privacy interests.
“In schools, though, the safety and well-being of others appears to override the individual right to privacy; thus, student rights in a school setting are relatively lower than elsewhere in contemporary society,” the authors said.
“This principle is significant because it suggests that, if cell phones are being used to harm other students, as with cyberbullying, for example, then educators have the legal right to confiscate — and, potentially, search — students’ phones without a warrant.”
Q: What policies can make a ban effective?
A: In announcing the ban, the Province of Ontario said it would provide mandatory training for teachers and new supports for students and parents.
The authors of the Journal of Educational Administration and Policy paper said simply writing policies had been shown to be ineffective without proper enforcement.
If students violate the rules, policies should spell out their due-process rights. In protecting these rights, policies should identify the circumstances under which educators can confiscate students’ cellphones, who can take them away, who has the authority to possess phones once they are taken away from students, how long officials can maintain possession of phones and when, to whom, and under what conditions they can be returned, the authors said.
In setting punishments, policies should include progressive levels of discipline, outlining sanctions for first and subsequent offences during the same academic year, the paper said. Policies should also require parents and students to read, sign and date forms indicating that they will observe school rules and regulations.
Q: What about vaping?
A: Ontario’s government is also strengthening the rules around students caught using or carrying vapes or cigarettes. Students will be required to surrender these products, and parents will be notified immediately.
In the last provincial budget, the government announced it would give $30 million to school boards for vape detectors and security upgrades, part of $47.5 million to implement the cellphone and vaping rules.
Another $15 million will be spent on programs offering direct supports for students who are at risk of substance use and addictive behaviours; $1 million will be spent on developing webinars and resources for parents and students to learn how to talk about the adverse effects of vaping and $1. 5 million has been earmarked for school boards to work with parent-involvement committees to run grassroots campaigns to deter vaping and cellphone distractions.
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