P.E.I. banning phones in classrooms for 'mental health of our students,' says education minister

Students in P.E.I. schools will have to put away their cell phones while in class starting this fall, according to a new directive from Education Minister Natalie Jameson.

The directive was formally released at about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, but Jameson had announced it earlier on Island Morning.

"This is an important step forward as we start to really take a deep dive in terms of what technology can look like in our classrooms," she told Island Morning host Mitch Cormier.

"We just want to make sure that we limit it for a variety of reasons, including the mental health of our students and limiting distractions."

The policy will be different in elementary schools compared to junior and senior high schools. For kindergarten to Grade 6 classes, phones will have to be put away for the school day. From grades 7 to 12, students will have access to their cell phones during breaks.

But students will be allowed to access the internet only through the school network, which has filters to exclude certain content and can block social media sites. Students will not be allowed to use their phones to take pictures or make recordings without the permission of a teacher.

Teachers will be able to allow the use of phones for instructional reasons. Exceptions will also be allowed for medical or special education purposes.

We're open to making adjustments down the road, if necessary, but this is happening across the country.— Education Minister Natalie Jameson

These new rules are in line with national trends, Jameson said.

"We're open to making adjustments down the road, if necessary, but this is happening across the country," she said.

Similar policies are already in place in some P.E.I. schools, she said, but the ministerial directive will give those policies more teeth.

Phones can lead to conflict

P.E.I. Teachers' Federation president Andy Doran, who was also on Island Morning as part of a panel discussion on the issue, welcomed the announcement.

• Listen to the panel discussion here

"Distractions in the classroom, whether it's noise or whether it's just students on their phones not paying attention, have been a problem for a while," said Doran.

"Teachers, we're on the front lines, we're the ones asking the students for their cell phones, asking them to turn them off. Sometimes that leads to conflict and sometimes it takes away from the learning of all the students."

He said parents will play a big role. They need to know what the policy is and send their children to school with that understanding.

Jameson agreed.

"They have a tremendous role to play as it relates to this new directive," she said. "A letter will go out to families describing what's required under this new policy directive."

Travis Saunders, a professor in the applied human sciences department at UPEI who has studied the impact of screen time on youth, was also on the Island Morning panel.

"This is a really important step forward, especially for the older students," said Saunders.

"Showing students that there is a time of day when we put screens away is a really important part of digital literacy. I think that can lead to a lot of other conversations of when is it appropriate to use a screen and when is it not appropriate."

Finding balance is important, said Jameson; screens are part of the future of today's students and schools can help make sure they are well equipped to deal with the challenges they pose.

The ministerial directive includes a detailed outline of expectations for students. Come September, a letter will go home with students including those expectations. Students and parents will be expected to read and understand the document, and then sign a letter agreeing to the expectations.

'It will be interesting'

Zoe Eaton, who is going into Grade 10 this fall, said it will be interesting to see how students deal with it.

"It's really good not to have a distraction always with you, but it's going to be, I think, a little challenging for some people.

"So sure, it will be interesting. I don't know how I really feel about it. I'm kinda in the middle — like yes and no. I don't know."