Quebec to send directive banning cell phones in class: ‘We want to help the concentration of kids’

QUÉBEC – Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville will soon be sending out a directive banning cell phones from public elementary and high school classrooms – it will not apply to private schools.

“The reason why we want to do it is because we want to help with the concentration of kids, we’ve listened to the teachers as well. The teachers will tell you if you’ve talked to them, and I talked to them when I toured the schools, and they will tell you that a lot of kids are using their cell during class time. They are using it,” said Drainville at a press conference in Quebec City on Wednesday morning.

The ban will still allow teachers to use cell phones exceptionally for teaching purposes only.

“The directive needs to be worked out and it needs to go through cabinet, so this will take some time,” explained Drainville, but adds that he wants to make it happen “as quickly as possible.”

“Once it’s been adopted by the cabinet it will be up to every school to make sure the directive is respected.”

Many schools already ban the use of cell phones in the classrooms, but Drainville says he wants to practice to be universal.

“I don’t want it to be patched kind of thing, I want it to be universal. Once you’ve arrived at the conclusion that this is going to be a good thing for the kids concentration and this is going to create better conditions for academic success, well then I think it’s my responsibility as Minster to make sure all the students can benefit from this measure.”

On May 30, the CAQ government rejected a Parti Québécois (PQ) motion calling for the use of cell phones in elementary and high school classrooms to be regulated.

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CAQ government rejects PQ motion to regulate cell phones in class

The PQ member for Matane-Matapédia, Pascal Bérubé, who has a teaching background, wanted to see this regulation in place in time for the start of the new school year.

The motion he presented in the Salon bleu asked the National Assembly to express concern about the harmful effects of cell phones on student concentration and motivation.

Other jurisdictions have adopted restrictive measures regarding cell phone use in schools and observed positive effects on student socialization.

The text was presented jointly with the Liberal MNA for Saint-Laurent, Marwah Rizqy, the Quebec Solidaire MNA for Mercier, Ruba Ghazal, and the Independent MNA for Vaudreuil, Marie-Claude Nichols.

To win this support, the PQ had to delete the word “prohibit” and replace it with “supervise”.

Even so, the government opposed the motion through its deputy House leader, Mathieu Lévesque, who stood up and declared, “No consent.”

Last spring, 92 per cent of the 7,000 teachers surveyed by the Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement (FSE) said they supported a ban on cell phones in the classroom, except for certain pedagogical activities.

FSE president Josée Scalabrini said teachers wanted to reduce distractions in the classroom, and were increasingly concerned about being filmed without their knowledge by students.

Education Minister Bernard Drainville had previously indicated that he was “open to considering” a general ban.

In 2021, during the Consultation sur la santé des jeunes et l’utilisation des écrans, several experts pointed out the harmful effects of screens on eyesight, sleep and weight.

But screens can also be good, they said. At school, for example, they make it possible to vary teaching approaches.

“I think cell phones belong in the classroom. It just depends on how you use them, and that’s all based on the person,” says a current student.

“I definitely think that it should be limited. I think that in certain situations you could use your cell phone like if you needed to like play activities or anything like that or for like educational purposes. But I do find that like it’s very distracting for children or any age,” says a Montrealer and a substitute teacher, agrees.

“The students need to be focusing on the subject at hand. I don’t think cell phones should be around, I think it’s a distraction. Mental and physically.”

For Montrealer Phenicia Serafen she says more discussion is needed before the directive comes into play. “It’s easy to say all they’re just spending time on TikTok and doing nothing, but actually, some children do learn there. They connect there with other people that loves their mind,” she says.

Adding, “we also have to keep in mind that not all children are the same. Some children are neurodivergent and they have special needs. So those needs need to be met.”

Micheal Cohen of the English Montreal school board says their schools have already implemented bans on mobile devices.

“Cellphones are not allowed while class is in session. Only if it’s for an educational purpose. They’re either to be left in the lockers or they’re to be placed in specific bags and given back to them at the end of class,” Cohen says, adding that the new directive will only help strength their policies.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on August 23, 2023.

– With files from Felisha Adam