Quebec will ban cellphones in public school classrooms, says education minister

Quebec will ban cellphones in all public school classrooms "as soon as possible," said Education Minister Bernard Drainville Wednesday.

"Cellphones are taking more and more space in our kids' lives," he said. "We know that, and what we want is for them to concentrate on what their teachers are saying, rather than the texts they get."

Exceptions will be made if the devices are used for educational purposes, said Drainville.

A similar motion was shot down back in May, but Drainville said he thought long and hard on the issue and decided a cellphone ban would create better conditions for academic success.

Ontario implemented a cellphone ban in 2019, and Drainville said Quebec is following suit.

Cabinet will have to approve whatever Drainville comes up with before a ban can be universally applied. It is unclear how the rule will be enforced — Drainville said it will be up to schools to figure that out.

'Just words'

Some schools, like St. Thomas High School in Montreal, have already banned the use of cellphones in classrooms.

Mike Wadden, a social studies teacher at Macdonald High School in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., has long been frustrated by students' use of cellphones in classrooms and says he was relieved to hear about the ban.

He says cellphones affect student morale and leadership and there are fewer school activities as students spend more time online.

But, after looking into the directive, he said it is no different from a local school policy.

"They're going to allow students to use them when necessary. They're going to give teachers leeway to allow kids to use cellphones in the classroom and it's not going to work. These kids are addicted," said Wadden.

"It's just words. There's no concrete action to really remove [cellphones], and that is disappointing."

He says parents who are concerned about being able to reach their children can still call the school in case of an emergency. He says parents often text their kids during classes — sometimes even during exams — which adds to the distraction.

Mélanie Laviolette, head of Quebec's parent committee federation, the Fédération des comités de parents du Québec, agrees that cellphones distract students and their use should be limited.

She also said students sometimes take photos of their unsuspecting classmates, which can lead to cyberbullying.

However, she said, schools have always had the power to ban cellphone use in classrooms and the decision should ultimately be made by the institutions closest to parents and students rather at the provincial government level.

"The measure comes from good intentions," she said.

"Our stance is that not having cellphones in classrooms is a good thing, but it should be up to the governing boards to make those decisions. However, it is a distraction and [the ban] can help maintain an adequate attention span for our kids and their education."

Laviolette said many schools have already come up with protocols, from having students keep their phones in their lockers to simply asking students to leave the devices in their backpacks.

"This will give schools more leverage," she said.