Committee recommends complete ban on cellphones in Quebec schools by fall 2025

A special committee studying the use of cellphones in Quebec schools says the mobile devices should be completely banned on school grounds by fall 2025.

A special committee studying the use of cellphones in Quebec schools says the mobile devices should be completely banned on school grounds for the next school year.

The National Assembly Select Committee on the Impacts of Screens and Social Media on Young People’s Health and Development made the recommendation in its interim report released on Tuesday.

Quebec banned cellphones in classrooms in January 2024, but the committee said the province should now expand the directive further by banning them, as well as headphones and other mobile devices, entirely, including in hallways, cafeterias, and the school yard, until classes are dismissed for the day in time for the 2025-2026 school year.

According to the interim report, some witnesses told the committee a ban would help limit distractions, promote physical activity and socializing, and deter the prevalence of cyberbullying. Members also heard directly from students and parents about how cellphones affect the school environment.

“As one elementary school student told us, cellphones create ‘a barrier to making friends.’ Others told us that at lunchtime and recess, their classmates use their phones and interact little with each other,” the report stated.

High school students Gabriel Paladino and Jaylah Baranis-Lewis know it firsthand.

Gabriel said he often sees his classmates on their phones while teachers are talking.

“And then get left behind in the class,” he said.

Jaylah said she understands the mental health impacts of spending too much time online.

“When you’re scrolling, you just see so much stuff, you want to keep scrolling and see what you can find. And at the same time, it’s like, you’re like, this is bad for me,” she said. “With the brain rot and with the attention span going down... I need to stop.”

The committee said exceptions should be made on the complete ban, including when a cellphone is required for the student’s health and special needs. They could also be used for educational purposes.

The Montreal police service (SPVM) also provided testimony during the study, telling the committee that many cases of cyberbullying, threats, and the sharing of intimate images without consent originate in schools during school hours. The SPVM said it supported a reduction in the use of cellphones in schools.

About 70 witnesses provided input to the committee members since the fall of 2024. Members also visited schools across Quebec between Nov. 4 and 18, 2024.

There are negative effects of complete ban, committee told

Not everyone agreed with a complete ban, however.

Parents’ committees and groups shared some concerns with the recommendation, favouring educational approaches to the issue of screen time rather than an “overly restrictive” ban, while others said a “wall-to-wall” approach would be difficult to implement given the realities of schools in different regions.

Katherine Korakakis, the president of the English Parents’ Committee Association of Quebec, said the ban is overly punitive and doesn’t teach kids proper digital literacy. She also pointed out that it’s unclear how these bans would be enforced, and said parents sometimes need to reach their kids during the day.

“If you really care about the problem we’re having with screen addiction, then you do stuff to mitigate that problem and you don’t just take things away because we all know that that just doesn’t work,” she said.

She recommends creating workshops and trainings to teach kids how to be good digital citizens, how to recognize fake news and the addictive nature of screens “to empower them to make different choices.”

The Quebec Association of Neuropsychologists also said a ban on cellphones during lunch breaks goes too far and could deprive certain students of their online support networks.

“They pointed out that cellphones can have certain social benefits, particularly for young people who are marginalized, feel different, or have few friends. Instead, the association advocates offering students screen-free activities at school, so that they can let go of their cellphone use on their own,” the report noted.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Medical Specialists of Quebec recommended to the that educational workshops on good screen-use practices could complement the ban.

Education Minister Bernard Drainville said Tuesday that he welcomed the interim report “with great interest” and has always been open to expanding the current directive further but wanted to let the committee to finish its work.

“We’ve been evaluating different scenarios for several months now. A complete ban on cell phones from the beginning to the end of the school year would be a major change for our network,” he said in a statement issued on social media.

He said the education ministry intends to give schools “clear direction as quickly as possible” to give them some predictability ahead of the next school year.

The committee’s final report will be tabled May 30 in the Quebec legislature.

With files from CTV News Montreal’s Kelly Greig