B.C. gov’t bans cellphones ‘bell to bell’ in schools provincewide

Ahead of the upcoming school year, B.C. Premier David Eby announced Tuesday that cellphones and other digital devices will be restricted in B.C. schools “from bell to bell.”

The province says all school districts now must have policies in place to limit cellphone use at school, after restrictions were first introduced in April.

Eby and Education Minister Rachna Singh say it’s part of a larger effort to keep students safe and healthy by protecting them from online predators, extortion and harassment.

“We want to ensure that when kids are in the classroom, they can learn without distractions that take away from their ability to thrive in school,” said Singh.

“A restriction on cellphones to make sure that kids can be kids and can learn and can develop strong social relationships with their friends at school in the absence of these devices. And parents can make their own choices about whether or not their family is comfortable with a kid having a device or not, and removing that peer pressure that comes when everybody has a phone,” said Eby, speaking outside a school Tuesday.

The BC Teachers’ Federation says cellphone policies in schools is best dealt with in partnerships with teachers.

“While some teachers enjoy using cellphones as a learning tool, others find them to be a distraction. Ultimately, as professionals who know their students best, teachers are well-positioned to determine what’s most effective for their students’ educational needs,” it said in an email to 1130 NewsRadio.

The group says while teachers are happy to see cellphone policies get attention, there are much higher priority tasks that must be addressed.

“There is a staffing crisis across schools in BC, and teachers need adequate resources to ensure no child goes without the support they need,” the BCTF said.

The province also announced the Safe Access to Schools Act, which allows the government to “prohibit people from interfering with safe access to school grounds.”

“Access zones are in place at K-12 schools, and police can arrest or issue tickets to anyone found impeding access, disrupting or interfering with educational activities, or attempting to intimidate an individual within 20 metres (66 feet) of school property,” the province said in a release.

It says the zones will be in effect from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. and during extracurricular activities, with limited exceptions.

“Disturbingly, in our province, we saw 20 different disruptive protests on elementary school and high school sites in British Columbia, including a demonstration in Burns Lake where adults were pounding on the windows of the school,” Eby explained. “That’s why we also introduced a ban on protests within perimeter around the schools.”

Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia all either have or are in the process of creating, rules that restrict the use of cellphones by students.

—With files from Michael Williams and The Canadian Press