QUÉBEC — The Quebec government is expanding its cellphone ban in schools, prohibiting students from using the devices on elementary or high school property for the entire school day.
Education Minister Bernard Drainville says the measure will encourage children to socialize and will help prevent cyberbullying.
"There will be more concentration, less distraction, less intimidation, more socialization – students talking to each other instead of being on their cell," Drainville told reporters in the Quebec City area. "This is what the evidence concludes."
Cellphones have already been prohibited during classroom time in Quebec since January 2024, with a few exceptions.
The new ban takes effect this fall and will apply from the start of the school day to the final bell, including during lunch breaks and in hallways, cafeterias and schoolyards.
Drainville said it will be up to schools to decide how to enforce the ban, and some exceptions will exist for students with specific needs. He said schools would also set out a procedure for parents to reach their children in an emergency.
The ban was a recommendation from an all-party committee of legislature members mandated to study the impact of screen time and social media on young people's health.
In an interim report published last month, the committee found that cellphones were omnipresent on school grounds, and it heard from specialists who said extending the ban could reduce students’ screen time and encourage other activities such as reading, socializing or physical activity.
Montreal police also said taking away phones could help reduce cyberbullying, which often begins in schools when young people are gathered together.
The report noted that some groups expressed concerns about the ban, including a parents' groups, teenage students and a neuropsychologists’ group that said bans could deprive more socially isolated students of their online support networks.
Students who were consulted noted that their phones have practical uses, including contacting their parents and keeping track of their schedules and activities. Only about 15 per cent of students between the age of 14 and 17 who responded to an online consultation supported a full ban on school grounds.
However, the majority of teachers surveyed were in favour, and the report noted that many students in schools where bans were already in place later came to see them positively.
Drainville said he believes there is a societal consensus in favour of reducing cellphone use in school.
"We now know well the benefits of a cellphone that is put aside during school hours and elsewhere, and I think it's our responsibility to act," he said.
All three of the opposition parties in the legislature expressed support for the measure.
Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Nova Scotia have all put in place rules limiting or restricting cellphone use in schools – though not necessarily during breaks.
New York state, like Quebec, has announced it will ban cellphones in public schools “bell to bell” beginning with the next school year.
Drainville also announced that schools have until January to develop a code of conduct that fosters what he called a "culture of respect." The code must include a requirement that students address teachers and staff as "Mr." or "Ms." and use the more formal form of "you" in French.
Finally, he announced the creation of an intervention team to support schools that need help managing difficult situations, such as repeated acts of violence.
"The message is clear: each student and each staff member has the right to evolve in an environment where they feel safe, an environment that is healthy and secure," he said.
Drainville said seven schools were already being helped by the intervention team, but he did not identify them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2025.
– By Morgan Lowrie in Montreal with a file from The Associated Press.
The Canadian Press
