Quebec to ban phones in schools starting in next school year

Quebec will ban phones and electronic devices in schools from the start until the end of the school day, building on a classroom phone ban implemented in January 2024.

Per CBC News, the ban will apply to public and private schools at the elementary and high school levels. The ban will come into effect with the next school year.

However, it will be up to each school to decide how to implement the new ban. Some schools already prohibit phones on school property.

A special committee studied the impact of screens on young people and recommended that Quebec ban devices in schools. The study said that phones distracted students and impacted their ability to learn.

Quebec is the latest province to put pressure on phone use in schools and classrooms. Last year, Saskatchewan and Ontario announced new bans, and many other provinces have some kind of ban in place.

Meanwhile, some schools are also going after social media for alleged harm to children. Ontario school boards launched multiple lawsuits against Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok and other platforms.

But increasingly strict bans don’t always have the intended effect. Instead of complying, kids increasingly seek ways to avoid the bans or lash out at teachers who try to enforce the rules.

Moreover, some question the efficacy of bans. With smartphones being so pervasive now, there’s an argument for investing in educating children about healthy phone habits instead. Teaching youth how to properly and appropriately use their devices could be more beneficial in the long run than simply forcing kids to stop using their phones at school.

Source: CBC News