cellphone bans

By Madeline Kerr

The first day of school this year in Quebec also marked the first day of a province-wide ban on cellphones in school. 

Local schools like Hadley Junior & Philemon Wright High School and École de la Cité, both in Gatineau, have developed their own plan for implementing the ban, including clarifying where students can leave their phones during the day and consequences for those students who break the rules. 

At Hadley-Philemon, “students will not be permitted to be in possession of any electronic device between the school hours of 8:55 a.m and 3:30 p.m. This includes all cellphones, smart watches and tablets,” according to a memo that was sent home to families before the return to school on Aug. 26. 

Students can have their phones with them on the bus ride to school, the memo stated, but “phones must be secured in lockers during school hours. If students do not have access to their locker for any reason, they will need to store their phone in their school office.”  

The memo also stated that students may not carry phones in their pockets, backpacks or other personal belongings,” and may not be used during breaks, like lunch time, or when students are between classes. 

Exceptions for medical or emergency reasons are only permitted with a doctor’s note or if the student has an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that specifies the need for phone access. 

Staff are also expected to refrain from using their phones during instructional time, unless “using their cellphone to enhance the learning of their students.”

Consequences at Hadley-Philemon start with a verbal warning for a first offence. A subsequent offence can result in the student having their phone confiscated for the rest of the day, and after repeat offences, a parent or guardian will be required to pick up the phone from the school office.

At École de la Cité the rules look similar, although consequences start with confiscation of the device on a student’s first offence. For a second offence, the device will be confiscated and only the parent or guardian will be able to retrieve it from the school. For a third or subsequent offence, the student will be required to leave their device at the school office for the entire school day. 

According to the regional school service centre (CSSPO), at École de la Cité “all staff members will be involved in strictly enforcing the rule by deploying more supervisors in the school and taking systematic action,” during the first weeks of the ban. 

At Hadley-Philemon, vice-principal Jeremy Wouda explained that, “all educational staff in the building will be working together to help support the phone-free school policy – teachers, techs, admin, guidance staff and others – so we will be able to spread the responsibility around a little bit.”

He added that teachers at the school “are very relieved that this policy is in place,” telling the Low Down that they are “looking forward to not having to police phones in their classrooms anymore, and they know that all they need to do is refer the student to the office and [the administration] will take care of the rest.”

Wouda acknowledged that some parents have expressed concerns about how to reach their child during the school day, although he said that on the whole “parents have been very supportive” of the initiative. He said that students can use the phones located in teachers’ offices if they need to make a call home. 

Provincial Minister of Education Bernard Drainville announced in May that the ban on cellphones in all public and private elementary and secondary schools would come into effect for the 2025–26 school year. The ban follows the release of a special committee report that found that cellphones were distracting and infringing on students’ ability to learn.

So far, according to VP Wouda, students at Hadley-Philemon have been abiding by the new rules. 

He said that on Aug. 28, the school “welcomed our Grade 7 and Grade 9 students, and I’m not exaggerating when I say I didn’t see a single cellphone all day. It was actually really amazing to see.”