While limiting the use of social media and cellphones in classrooms isn’t new, both school boards in Guelph and Wellington County say consistency is key.
Near the end of April the provincial government introduced its policy to crack down on cellphones and social media in schools ahead of the 2024/2025 school year. Local boards are hammering the point with its existing rules and placing an emphasis on education and communication.
Social media sites Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, X and Discord were blocked from the Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) WiFi network prior to April. Now, TikTok has been added to the list.
At the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB), some social media sites have been blocked from its WiFi network for about eight years, said Brent McDonald, associate director at UGDSB.
“When we saw that come through, there's really no change in what we are doing as a board. It gave us another really good opportunity to review the processes we have in place,” he said.
Prior to the provincial direction, UGDSB blocked individual social media sites like TikTok and Snapchat, to name a few. Now the board blocks sites in the social media category meaning the list changes “as new social media platforms are created and others disappear,” said McDonald in a follow-up email.
There is a difference between Kindergarten to Grade 6 and Grade 7 to 12 when it comes to cell phone use at both boards following provincial direction.
The elementary students have to have cellphones on silent and out of sight for the whole school day unless an educator permits it otherwise, said in a provincial news release from April.
“I can't think of too many Kindergarten students that would have cell phones in place,” said McDonald.
Secondary school students cannot use cellphones during class unless an educator permits it, the release continued.
Secondary students can use their cellphones during breaks, unlike elementary students, said McDonald.
There are other exceptions to the cellphone rule for all students across the boards and the province outlined on the government’s website. Mobile devices can be used during class time when; a teacher permits it to be used for learning, it’s needed for a medical reason and if it supports special education needs.
The goal is to reduce distractions in schools and protect the time in class to focus on learning, said Michael Glazier, director of education at WCDSB.
This isn’t the first time the province has given direction to Ontario’s school boards about restricting cellphones. Cellphones and other mobile devices were restricted in classrooms Nov. 4, 2019.
“Over several years, we've, you know, we've developed practices within our schools to limit those schools distractions.
Over several years WCDSB has developed practices in schools to limit distractions, said Glazier. “So again, this just sort of mirrors what was currently in place, but it's again, a good reminder for all,” he said.
For UGDSB it previously had a handbook for students and families called the Acceptable Use of Digital Technology Procedures Manual. Now its embedded in the board’s policies and code of conduct.
“So that's the really nice part about this, is that every school and every district across the province will have a very similar code of conduct with the same language and that's a good thing. That'll just be more clarity for folks when they're moving between boards, between schools, and it's much more accessible for people to see,” said McDonald.
There are consequences for students who don’t abide by the rules but those consequences aren’t any different from how other matters are dealt with.
“There's a whole range of potential consequences that can happen,” said Glazier. “But really, the focus here is on educating our kids and making sure they're aware and making sure that … their actions aren’t becoming a detraction to themselves or to others.”
The range can be warnings, meetings with parents, detentions or suspensions. But it depends on if students understood their behaviour, if it's a first or a repeat offence so there is some flexibility for principals when it comes to this, he said.
As for UGDSB the consequences are student dependent and situational dependent.
“For us, the consequences for that are no different than when the student wouldn't follow any of the other expectations in the code of conduct. So we don't have special consequences just for that,” said McDonald.
Consequences could look like; having a conversation with a student to understand what the difficulty might be, working with the family to support the student, detention, or having a school administrator have the phone delivered to the family instead of the student at the end of the day.
McDonald knows its early days but later on he hopes to hear from students about what difference it made in classrooms and if they were more engaged and less distracted. He thinks it will help inform next steps.
He also wants to hear from educators to see how it changed classroom dynamics.
“But that's a big part of it, is to see our students more engaged in their learning. Are they continuing to have those moments where they're not distracted in class and get caught up on the work that they need to be doing? But also just connecting and making those social connections, whether it's at recess or at breaks or with everything else that school has to offer,” said McDonald.
At WCDSB, Glazier said he is hopeful this year and by reiterating expectations in schools he believes “students have every chance to succeed to the best of their abilities within class time as a result of this.”
He also hopes there will be more opportunities for education so students can understand some of the adverse affects of social media and cellphone use.
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