Ban phones in classrooms in Alberta from fall 2024

“Parents, teachers, students and our educational partners have made clear that the use of personal mobile devices and social media in the classroom is a concern,” Nicolaides said.

“We are taking a measured approach to protect students by limiting the use of personal mobile devices during class time to reduce distractions and bullying, maximize learning time and support students’ mental health.”

While school boards already have the autonomy to set their own phone bans, officials say the rules vary widely from province to province. New provincial regulations will harmonize the rules.

Similar bans on school phones have been introduced in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.

Schools will also be able to block certain social media platforms from accessing their online networks.

About 90 percent of the roughly 68,000 parents, teachers, students and principals surveyed by the government about cell phone use in schools said they were concerned about and agreed with the restrictions.

Chantel Flaig, parent of a first-grader at Medicine Hat Public Schools, agreed with the new restrictions.

“I agree with that,” Flaig said.

“Children already have too many distractions in the classroom, and some of them are now being taught digitally.”

Debbie Senior, the parent of another student, agreed that phones were a distraction but questioned eliminating them altogether.

“(Phones) should be on silent, but as a parent I also have a child who concentrates better by listening to music,” Senior said in a social media post shared with CHAT News.

“If a parent needs to contact them in an emergency, using the phone will be easier than trying to contact the school and having to contact multiple people.”

Alberta’s new rules will establish restrictions, enforcement procedures and exceptions for students in public, separate, French-language, public and independent schools.

The ban will also apply to entities providing services for young children.

Officials say exceptions will be made for students using mobile devices for health and medical purposes, to support specialized learning needs and for educational purposes.

Students who use phones to monitor their blood sugar levels, for example, will be exempt from the restrictions.

Daniel Tieman, a substitute teacher at Medicine Hat and Prairie Rose Catholic Schools, supports the restrictions but said they don’t go far enough.

“I spent a ridiculous amount of time keeping order rather than providing instruction or instructional support,” Tieman told CHAT News.

“I think it’s well-intentioned, but it won’t reduce disruptions as intended. Teachers and administrators will still need to control devices, and IT will need to work on content blocking.”

The Alberta Teachers’ Association, often critical of Alberta’s changes in education policy, expressed support for the ban.

“ATA is pleased to see that the government’s direction reflects ATA’s policy of keeping students focused on learning while balancing situations where technology can be used to address medical and educational needs or outcomes,” said association president Jason Schilling.

“Teachers and school leaders look forward to the support of the Government and school boards as they implement this new policy.”

The provincial government said local school officials will provide parents and guardians with detailed information about their policies and policies in the coming weeks and months.

There will be a minor impact on Grade 6 students at Medicine Hat Kindergarten, but the province’s ban will mean greater restrictions for Grade 7 and 9 students, a spokesperson told CHAT News.