Richard Froese
South Peace News
Several local school divisions are pleased that the provincial government will ban the use of personal mobile devices during class time in schools when students return to classes in September.
To safeguard student mental health and reduce distractions, personal devices will be prohibited during class time and access to social media sites will be restricted, states a government news release dated June 17.
Peace River School Division board chair Crystal Owens says the local board, teachers and even students endorse the new restrictions.
“The board was not surprised by the decision,” Owens says.
“I believe, as a board, we fully support the idea of having more strict guidelines around cellphones, especially in the classroom.”
She says students are also concerned about cellphone use in classrooms.
“I think the majority of students will support this as well,” Owens says.
“We have heard from a number of schools that our students themselves see phones as a huge disruption to their learning.”
High Prairie School Division board chair Joy McGregor says many schools have already taken the lead in restricting use of cellphones in the class.
“A number of our schools already have similar cellphone policies in place and we will be incorporating their policies along with parental feedback to develop the new administrative procedure to comply with the ministerial order,” McGregor says.
She notes HSPD forwarded the following message to parents about the restrictions.
“The Division will be preparing the required policy to support the change in operations this fall,” the message states.
“This will be done in partnership with schools and take into account the conversation for the 2023-24 school engagement feedback, which includes asking parents and guardians about the use of cellphones in schools.”
Holy Family Catholic Regional Division board chair Kelly Whalen says students are concerned about the use of cellphones during class time.
“Students did bring the issue up last year at the school division student engagement team meeting with the board and superintendent,” Whalen says.
“Administration is developing an administrative procedure with plans to have it in place before the start of the new school year.”
Northland School Division board chair Robin Guild says the school division is getting ready to implement the new restrictions.
“Northland School Division is currently drafting an administrative procedure to align with the new requirements,” Guild says.
“This procedure will address device use, social media access, enforcement roles and compliance measures to support a focused learning environment and student well-being.”
Conseil scolaire du Nord-Ouest board president Sylvianne Maisonneuve says the school division is preparing for the regulations.
“The CSNO is exploring strategies to best support the needs of our students and staff as we consider implementation of these new requirements,” Maisonneuve says.
“As there is no existing policy or procedure, the CSNO will develop a comprehensive administrative procedure over the coming months, which will include specific procedures as outlined in the ministerial order.
“The development process will involve collaboration with our administrative team to ensure all aspects are thoroughly addressed and that the new procedure reflects the circumstances in our school communities.”
Maisonneuve says the CSNO aims to make the new policy available to the public promptly.
Mobile devices and social media are becoming more present in all aspects of life and Alberta’s classrooms are no exception, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides says.
Based on comments from adults in a survey, the government will implement standards starting Sept. 1 to ensure personal mobile devices and social media do not disrupt learning.
“Parents, teachers, students and our education partners were clear that the use of personal mobile devices and social media in the classroom was of concern,” Nicolaides says.
“We’re taking a measured approach to protect students by restricting the use of personal mobile devices during instructional time to reduce distractions and bullying, maximize learning time and support student mental health.”
More the 68,000 parents, teachers and education partners responded to an Alberta Education survey and almost 90 per cent of respondents expressed concern over student cellphone use at school.
Alberta joins British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in introducing similar bans and restrictions for cellphone use in schools.