Canada’s Ontario-wide mobile phone restrictions in classrooms now in effect

The ban, first announced by the government earlier this year, had been delayed to give school boards time to implement the restriction, according to Global News, a Canadian media outlet.

Under the ban, students can only use personal mobile devices during instructional time if it is for educational purposes, for health purposes, or for special needs.

On Sunday, Education Minister Stephen Lecce released a short statement to the media ahead of the restrictions coming into effect.

“Our government heard clearly from parents and educators about the growing challenge related to distracted students in the classroom. When in class, students should be focused on their studies and not on social media,” he wrote.

“The cellphone restrictions coming into force on Monday is another step forward in providing a focused and academically-enriched learning environment for our students.”

The government said 97 percent of students, parents and teachers who participated in last year’s consultations called for cellphone use should be restricted.

Some schools already have similar policies, but the directive sets a provincial standard.

The Progressive Conservatives had proposed such a ban in their platform during the 2018 election campaign. The Ministry of Education says exceptions will be made “for health and medical purposes, to support special education needs, or for educational purposes as directed by an educator.”

The Toronto District School Board used to have a cellphone ban, but reversed it after four years to let teachers dictate what works best for their classrooms. The board has previously said that enforcing an outright ban was next to impossible, and said that to curb technology use would be to place limits on educational opportunities as well.

“At the TDSB, we encourage the use of technology in the classroom but for educational purposes only,” TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird told Global News in a statement Sunday afternoon.

“Recent changes to the board code of conduct to address the direction of the Ministry of Education with regards cellphones essentially formalizes what schools in the TDSB have already been doing — using cellphones where appropriate to the lesson or topic at hand.”

A 2015 London School of Economics and Political Science paper found that “student performance in high stakes exams significantly increases” with a ban on mobile phones. The improvements were largely seen among the students who were normally the lowest achieving.”