St. Albert students had to hold all their calls this week as they went back to school under a new province-wide ban on cellphones in the classroom.
On June 20, 2024, Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides issued a ministerial order on standards for the use of personal mobile devices and social media in schools that was set to kick in on Sept. 1, 2024.
Noting that personal mobile devices (including cellphones, tablets, laptops, or smartwatches) can negatively affect the learning and mental health of students, the order bans students from using said devices (hereafter referred to as cellphones) during instructional time, and to have them on silent or powered off and stored out of view during those times. The order also bars students from accessing social media on school networks or school devices. School boards may make exceptions for health or educational needs.
While the order became active as of Sept. 1, it gave school boards until Jan. 1, 2025, to create policies governing the use of cellphones in schools.
St. Albert Public spokesperson Paula Power said in an email that the board was still working on those policies but planned to have them in place by January. Parents and community members will get to weigh in on the policies at an open house this Sept. 26 at district office (60 Sir Winston Churchill Ave.)
Greater St. Albert Catholic published an updated administrative procedure on cellphones that was implemented on Aug. 21, 2024, board spokesperson Shanlyn Cunningham said in an email. The procedure bans students from using cellphones or smart watches during instructional time unless explicitly directed to do so by a teacher, and bans students from accessing social media on school networks or devices during school time. The procedure allows for exceptions for health, educational, or other circumstances, and allows for laptops and tablets to be used under a teacher’s direction. The policy leaves the details of the ban up to individual schools.
Sturgeon Public made detailed updates to its administrative procedures regarding cellphones over the summer for schools to use this fall, district spokesperson Lauren Walter said in an email. The procedures ban students from using cellphones or social media during instructional time, and include a long list of banned social media sites, including Facebook, Discord, and YouTube.
Mixed rules
Schools reached by the Gazette at the start of the 2024-2025 school term had all put their own spins on the cellphone ban.
St. Albert Catholic High students can use their phones whenever they are not in a classroom, for example, but have to put them in a numbered pouch while class is in session, said vice-principal Daniel Veraart. Students have their cellphones confiscated for five days on a first offence, 10 on a second, and are barred from having them at school on a third.
Morinville Community High allows cellphone use during breaks and spares but disallows them whenever a student is supposed to be in class, said vice-principal Laurent Beaudoin.
“Even if you go to the washroom during instructional time from class, you cannot access your cellphone.”
Cellphone rules at Bellerose used to vary from class to class, said principal Peter Fenton. Now, it’s a blanket ban on phone use during school hours except at designated breaks, with students having their phones turned into the office for a day if they break the rules.
Paul Kane had similar rules to Bellerose except that they currently allowed for cellphones to be used during spares, said principal Erin Steele. The school also brings the parents in on a first offence, with confiscation reserved for subsequent ones.
“When the kids walk in the building, we ask them to put their cellphones away,” Steele said, whether that be in their bag (on silent) or in their locker.
Mixed reaction
Students the Gazette reached at Paul Kane weren’t thrilled with the new bans.
Grade 12 student Claire Love said the ban was inconvenient and didn’t match the realities of modern education, where students regularly use phones to access resources through Google Classroom.
“I do think it’s a pretty ridiculous rule,” Love said, as kept students from learning to set their own boundaries on cell phone use.
Grade 11 student Carys Redekopp said she had yet to hear any student speak in favour of the ban, adding that she preferred the old system where such bans were up to individual teachers. While she felt the ban would improve her learning in the long run, she said she currently found it tough to focus on her studies without the ability to listen to music.
Steele said one student told him they were glad the ban had come down, as it meant they would no longer be distracted by mobile phone games in class.
Fenton said his staff have seen immediate benefits from the ban for student socialization.
“Instead of students walking around or sitting around staring at their phones, they’ve got their heads up and are looking at each other, having conversations with each other.”
