Province-wide Ban on Cellphones in the Classroom Coming Soon to Ontario

According to the Government of Ontario’s new vision for ‘Education that Works for You’ announced today by the Minister of Education Lisa Thompson, a province-wide ban on cellphones in the classroom is coming soon to Ontario.

It was previously reported earlier this week the province was set to ban cellphones in the classroom and now Ontario has outlined their official announcement.

The government’s plan aims to modernize curriculum and empower the educators for better preparing students for the modern world.

“This is our plan to protect a sustainable world-class education system for the students of today and the future,” said Thompson. “We will make sure our students are leaving school with the skills they need to build good lives, families and careers right here in Ontario, while ensuring the system is both fiscally sustainable and respectful of parents.”

In addition to a cellphone ban in the classrooms, students and parents in Ontario can also look forward to the implementation of stronger math, STEM, and improved skilled trades opportunities.

The Government of Ontario believes the new vision will modernize the classrooms and provide students with more learning opportunities to prepare for success in post-secondary education, apprenticeship and training, and the workforce.

The plan would include the following:

• Modernizing classrooms by expanding broadband, developing a new policy that will ban the use of cellphones during class except for educational purposes and modernizing the approach to assessment and evaluation with a renewed focus on equity across the province.
• Introducing changes to education funding that keep resources focused on students in the classroom.





• Supporting teacher mobility, greater transparency, fairness, consistency and accountability to school board hiring practices of teachers.
• Maintaining class sizes for Kindergarten to Grade 3, establishing a consistent approach to class sizes for grades 4 to 8 and aligning secondary class sizes more closely with other Canadian jurisdictions, while introducing a new approach to e-learning and reducing pressure on school boards to put students in portables and split classes.

The new education plan also marks the largest consultation of its kind in Ontario history. The consultation included over 72,000 engagements across three different consultation channels, including an open submission form, online survey, and telephone town halls held in every region of the province.