Ontario tightens cell phone rules and bans vaping in schools

The Ontario government is introducing new measures to curb cell phone use and vaping in schools as the province reports an “alarming increase” in incidents of vaping and vaping in schools.

In Sunday’s announcement, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the province was removing distractions as part of its back-to-basics plan and addressing the “negative impacts” of mobile devices, social media and vaping in schools.

“Every parent and teacher we talk to shares the growing problem of cell phone distractions in the classroom … as well as the disturbing increase in school vaping (among) our youth,” Lecce said at a news conference Sunday in North York.

“We will refuse to use mobile phones during classes. We must be bold, act comprehensively and act urgently today.”

The provincial government said that starting in September, students in kindergarten through Grade 6 will be required to silence their phones and “hide them” throughout the school day unless they receive permission to use them.

Similarly, students in grades 7-12 will not be allowed to use mobile phones during classes without permission.

“If they do not comply, they will be asked to hand over their phones, otherwise they may be sent back to the office,” Lecce said.

“This document lists progressive discipline principles. In case of repeated violations, they may even include suspension.”

Schools are to decide when the use of technology is appropriate

The decision about when it is appropriate to use technology will be up to school staff, and Lecce said he “will have the support” of teachers, principals and superintendents who will enforce the government’s new policy.

Quebec and British Columbia have already taken similar steps to ban the use of cell phones in the classroom, but Lecce says Ontario will be the first to block access to all social media platforms on school networks and devices.

According to the voivodeship, as part of these changes, teachers will undergo mandatory training. Report cards will now also include comments on student distraction levels in class.

Lecce touted the measures as necessary steps that will help students concentrate in class and improve safety in schools.

“Our policy is to enforce regulations to ensure compliance and consistency across the province,” he said.

Students will be required to surrender any vaping products or cigarettes they are caught carrying, and school staff will notify parents of such circumstances as part of the new measures, the province says.

The government said it has allocated $30 million in the 2024 budget to install vape detectors and other safety improvements in schools.

Vaping ban protects students from ‘preventable risks’

Dr. Kieran Moore, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said banning vaping in schools would help protect students from “preventable risks.”

“In Ontario, there is a growing number of students in grades 7 to 12 who are using vaping products, which contain and emit many toxic substances,” Moore said.

“These products can affect the respiratory, immune and cardiovascular systems, and the nicotine in these products is particularly harmful to young people’s brain development.”

The announcement comes after four major school boards in Ontario sued some of the largest social media companies over their products, alleging that the way they were designed negatively changed the way children thought, behaved and learned, and disrupted schools.

Toronto, Peel and Ottawa-Carleton public school district officials, along with Toronto’s Catholic counterpart, are seeking total damages of about $4.5 billion from Meta Platforms Inc., Snap Inc. and ByteDance Ltd., which operates the Facebook and Instagram platforms Snapchat and TikTok, respectively, according to separate but similar lawsuits filed in March.