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Cellphone restrictions coming to Vancouver schools

Click to play video: 'B.C. government aims to restrict cell phone use in school'
B.C. government aims to restrict cell phone use in school
The B.C. government will require school districts to restrict cellphone use 'bell-to-bell' in all schools, starting with the next school year in September. Kristen Robinson reports – Jan 26, 2024

Restrictions on cellphones are now coming to Vancouver schools.

The Vancouver School Board passed a motion on Monday night requiring students from kindergarten to Grade 7 to keep their devices on silent and out of sight during the school day, unless they have permission to do otherwise.

The motion also directs the superintendent to form a working group on the matter to discuss lessons learned, share best practices and propose changes as needed.

The new rules are meant to align with the province’s requirement for school districts to bring in cellphone restrictions by July.

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”Children nowadays are so dependent on technology,” said Preeti Faridkot, a Vancouver School Board trustee, at the meeting.

“The only way this could stop is if we implement this restriction in schools. We are, as a board, committed to providing a safe learning environment and restricting cellphones. Schools are for education and not for devices or social media.”

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Two trustees voted against the motion.

Trustee Suzie Mah said that since it’s up to individual schools to lay out consequences, there could be issues with equity and optics if consequences are applied more harshly at some schools than others.

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