Sudbury board wants to hear from public about cellphone use in schools

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The Sudbury-area’s English public school board wants to hear from the public on how it should change its policies governing the use of cellphones and mobile devices in classes.

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Rainbow District School Board is creating an Administrative Procedure on Cell Phone/Mobile Device Use in Schools that will apply to the entire school community this fall.

The survey will remain open until July 12.  All responses will be anonymous.

The survey can be completed at bit.ly/rdsb.

The Administrative Procedure is a requirement under the Ministry of Education Policy/Program Memorandum (PPM) 128: The Provincial Code of Conduct and School Board Codes of Conduct issued on April 28.

Under PPM 128, members of the school community must not use personal mobile devices during instructional time except for:

o   educational purposes, as directed by an educator;

o   health and medical purposes; and

o   to support special education needs.

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“Survey respondents are being asked to consider the following factors when providing their input: the age of the student, maximizing classroom instructional time, prioritizing mental health and well-being, fostering engaging teaching and learning environments, and focusing on student success and achievement,” the board said in a release.

“In addition to the survey feedback, the Administrative Procedure will consider legislative requirements, government policy directives, and the board’s operational requirements as well as concerns about the inordinate amount of time spent on cellphones and social media and the growing research on their negative impact on student well-being.”

Earlier this year, the Ontario government said it would act to limit cellphone use in classrooms, restrict access to all social-media networks and ban vaping on school properties starting this fall.

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Then-Education Minister Stephen Lecce (he has since been moved to the Energy ministry) said the new measures were necessary steps to improve safety in schools and help students focus in class.

“Every parent and teacher we speak to has shared the growing problem of cellphone distractions in class during instructional time, in addition to the disturbing rise of vaping in schools amongst our youth,” he said.

“We need to be bold. We need to be comprehensive. And we need to act with urgency today.”

The government has put together a “comprehensive plan” to curb distraction levels among the province’s students, Lecce said, including restricting cellphone use and banning vaping in schools.

“Our policy includes enforcement to ensure compliance and consistency provincewide through these changes that will be coming into effect this fall,” he said.

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“We will be denying cellphone use during instructional time.”

Kids in kindergarten to Grade 6 will be required to keep phones on silent and out of sight for the entire school day, unless they get explicit permission from an educator, while those in grades 7 and up will see cellphone use banned during class time.

“If they do not comply, they will be asked to surrender their phones or they could be sent to the office,” Lecce said.

“There are progressive discipline policies listed in this. It can include up to suspension if there are repeat violations.”

Quebec and British Columbia have already made similar moves to ban the use of cellphones in class, but Lecce said Ontario will be the first province to block access to all social-media platforms on school networks and devices.

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Report cards will now also include comments on students’ distraction levels in class.

Concerns about social media and its effects on students are not confined to government officials. Four of Ontario’s largest school boards have announced plans to sue the parent companies of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.

The school boards alleged the social-media platforms are disrupting student learning, contributing to a mental-health crisis and leaving educators to manage the fallout.

The Toronto District School Board, the Peel District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board filed four separate but similar cases in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice in late March.

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The lawsuits alleged the social-media platforms are designed for compulsive use and have rewired the way children think, behave and learn.

In addition to the new restrictions on cellphones and social-media use, Lecce said vaping will be banned in all schools alongside tobacco, nicotine and cannabis products.

Students caught carrying such products will have them confiscated and schools will be required to notify parents if that happens, he said.

Lecce said higher rates of vaping among youth are “deeply concerning” and unacceptable.

Thirty per cent of Canadian youth aged 15 to 19 had tried vaping as of 2022, the most recent Health Canada data showed. That’s compared to just 14.7 per cent of people over the age of 25.

sud.editorial@sunmedia.ca
X: @SudburyStar

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