Cell phones will not be permitted during class time across K-12 schools in Saskatchewan starting in the 2024-25 school year.
Local school divisions are figuring out what to do with the announcement.
Prince Albert Catholic School Division director of education Lorel Trumiersaid that the division understands the logic but students will not see much change.
“The timeline is I’m going to use the term interesting, but we do understand that the goal was to really to focus in on learning,” Trumier said.
“We want a good experience for students. I believe that our students probably won’t feel a big difference in what we are already currently were doing in our schools,” she said.
Trumier said that the goals of the announcement align with the division’s goals to optimize learning with both students and staff.
She said there may be a few tweaks to what the division does but does not expect it to be abrupt changes because students are already expected to be respectful of class time.
She said that the division already goes through what is appropriate around registration time.
“Most of our students, they understand the need for any kind of guidelines and I would say our families have been very supportive too,” Trumier said.
“We’ll take this opportunity to support digital literacy for sure because it’s raised a lot of awareness and I think that’s important as we go through the startup of this school year. We will do some process obviously with our staff and help them get ready for some of the elements that may be slightly different or shifting,” she said.
These new measures will apply to all Kindergarten to Grade 12 schools in the province.
In Grades 9 to 12, teachers can seek an exemption from administration to allow cell phone use by students during class when needed for a specific instructional purpose.
According to Trumier students can already use devices if appropriate and approved by administration.
“We will just talk about the process of having (cell phones) in those classrooms and how that would work,’ Trumier said.
She said that digital tools are important tools to have for learning from time to time.
“We will work on those kinds of things together to make sure that it’s communicated and any student who requires it for medical needs or that kind of thing, obviously exemptions do exist,” Trumier said.
She said the accommodations can already be made and most parents and students will understand the need for guidelines. Trumier explained that this announcement will just put those policies to the forefront.
“We do have some policies already in place, like acceptable use and that’s what we’re just reviewing,” she said.
Trumier said that the division received a document from the Ministry of Education regarding personal electronic device guidelines on Thursday that they will review,
“We’ll see if there’s any discrepancy between what we’re already doing and what needs to be done,” she said.
School division procedures will include exemptions for students that require ongoing use of mobile devices as accommodations for medical or specific learning needs.
Saskatchewan Rivers director of education, Neil Finch said the division is still figuring out what to do with current guidelines.
“We will be looking into our current admin procedures and we will adjust them where necessary to ensure that we align with the new provincial directive,” Finch wrote in an email to the Herald.
Finch wrote that this will be completed by the end of August.
School division procedures will include exemptions for students that require ongoing use of mobile devices as accommodations for medical or specific learning needs.
“Technology has its place, but too often, cell phones are taking students’ attention away from what they should be learning,” Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said in a release. “This new policy will allow students to be more engaged with their teachers and focused on learning the skills and knowledge they need to reach their potential.”
In Grades 9 to 12, teachers can seek an exemption from administration to allow cell phone use by students during class when needed for a specific instructional purpose.
With this announcement, Saskatchewan joins several other provinces which have initiatives to limit or restrict the use of internet-connected devices in schools for implementation in fall 2024.
The matter was not on the agenda for the Catholic School Division board of education’s first meeting on Monday, Aug. 19 but Trumier said an item may be added on the day of the meeting with what is known up to this point.
“We’ll get prepared to work with our school leaders, our teachers, and our students are good. Our parents and students have always been receptive to what needs to get done,” Trumier said.
“I think most understand the need for less distraction in the classroom, I think that’s a reasonable expectation for us to have for students so they wouldn’t be much different than what they’re already experiencing,” she added.
