(Toronto) Ontario will limit cell phone use in classrooms, restrict access to all social media and ban vaping in schools starting this fall, Ontario’s education minister announced Sunday. Province.
Stephen Lecce unveiled the new measures at a press conference, presenting them as necessary measures to improve safety in schools and help students concentrate in class.
“Every parent and teacher we spoke to shared the growing problem of cell phone distractions in the classroom during instructional time, in addition to the worrying increase in vaping in schools among our youth,” he said. he declares.
“We must be bold. We must be comprehensive. And we must act urgently today. »
The government has developed a “comprehensive plan” to reduce distraction levels among the province’s students, Lecce said, including restricting cellphone use and banning vaping in schools.
“Our policy includes enforcement measures to ensure compliance and consistency across the province with these changes coming into effect this fall,” he said. We will refuse the use of cell phones during teaching hours. »
Children in kindergarten through sixth grade will be required to keep their phones silent and out of sight for the entire school day unless they get explicit permission from a teacher, while those in seventh grade and above will see the Use of cell phones prohibited during class hours.
“If they don’t comply, they will be asked to return their phone or they could be sent to (the principal’s) office,” Mr. Lecce said.
“This contains progressive disciplinary policies. This may include suspension in the event of repeated violations. »
Quebec and British Columbia have already taken similar steps to ban the use of cell phones in the classroom, but Lecce said Ontario would be the first province to block access to all social media platforms. on school networks and devices.
School report cards will now also include feedback on student distraction levels in class.
The Progressive Conservative government had asked school boards to develop their own cell phone policies in 2019, but Lecce said the results were mixed. A province-wide policy will be stronger and clearer, he argued.
“Some school boards have developed strong policies, and many have developed policies that have gotten us to where we are today,” he said, noting the high rate of students distracted by their phones.
Mixed reactions
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation remains skeptical that a blanket ban will improve the situation, the group’s president said Sunday.
“I don’t really know how this is going to change anything in the future,” Karen Littlewood said.
Teachers are reluctant to confiscate students’ phones because they would be liable if the devices are lost, damaged or stolen, she said.
“It leads to so many issues and so many problems,” she said.
It will be up to school staff to decide when the use of technology is appropriate, and Lecce said he would “support” teachers, principals and superintendents who will be the ones implementing the new government policy.
The changes reflect some of the demands made by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario in its most recent round of negotiations with the province.
The group suggested the changes as a way to address growing violence and disruption in schools, the federation said in a statement released Sunday.
However, the union says it will reserve its opinion on the new policies until it has seen all the changes in detail.
Concerns about social media and its effects on students are not limited to government officials. Four of Ontario’s largest school boards announced plans last month to sue the parent companies of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.
School boards say social media platforms are disrupting student learning, contributing to a mental health crisis and leaving educators to deal with the consequences.
The Toronto District School Board, the Peel District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board filed four separate, but similar, cases in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice at the end of the month Of March.
The lawsuits claim that social media platforms are designed for compulsive use and have changed the way children think, behave and learn.
In addition to new restrictions on cell phones and social media use, Lecce said vaping will be banned in all schools, as will tobacco products, nicotine and cannabis.
Students caught carrying such products will have them confiscated, and schools will be required to notify parents if this happens, he said.
The Ontario government announced last month that more security cameras and vaping detectors would be installed in schools. The province dedicated $30 million to school safety in its latest budget.
With information from Laura Osman in Ottawa
reference: www.lapresse.ca