Province announces details of cellphone ban in classrooms

The provincial government will start to restrict the use of cellphones in classrooms as of November 4.

Students will not be able to use their phones during instructional time.

However, the province says exceptions will be made if cellphones are required for health or medical purposes, to support special education needs, or for educational purposes as determined by a teacher.

“When in class, students should be focused on their studies, not their social media,” Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce said in a release. 

“That's why we are restricting cellphones and other personal mobile devices in the classroom, while making sure technology is available to help students achieve success in the digital economy and modern workforce.” Lecce added.

According to the province, during the consultation on education reform last fall, 97 per cent of parents, students and teachers who participated said that cellphone use should be restricted in some way.  

The Provincial Code of Conduct has now been updated to include the restriction.

The Ministry of Education said it sets clear standards of behaviour and requires that all school boards ensure their own codes of conduct are up to date and consistent with requirements.

We first got word the ban could be coming back in March.