School board association says cellphone ban not a high priority

While the president of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association agrees that distraction-free classrooms are important, Jaimie Smith-Windsor said the new school cellphone ban was not “high on the priority list.”

Smith-Windsor said many school divisions already have rules in place when it comes to student cellphone use.

“It really wasn’t high on the radar for school boards to be looking at this,” she said. “There are bigger issues that we are focused on.”

On Wednesday, the provincial government announced it would not permit personal cellphone use in K-12 classrooms. Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said the new policy will keep students focused on their studies.

Smith-Windsor said items higher on the SSBA’s list are inclusive education, innovation, and seeing more investments in students learning.

In a statement from the NDP’s education critic Matt Love, he agreed that cellphones do cause issues in schools, but said a lack of funding is a bigger problem.

With other provinces announcing new rules surrounding cellphones, Smith-Windsor said the SSBA was aware changes may come to Saskatchewan.

In June, Premier Scott Moe said the provincial government was taking a look at Alberta’s policy on cellphones in schools.

The minister of education did make the school boards association aware of the potential policy change before it happened, and did ask for feedback, she said.

“I would say it was not a robust consultation,” Smith-Windsor said. “We did have some conversation as boards around what existing policies, and practices, and preferences are when it comes to implementing policy changes of this nature.”

Smith-Windsor said distraction free classrooms are important, but so is ensuring that students are taught digital literacy skills.

Samantha Becotte, President of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, said the provincial government should be focusing on bigger issues in the education system.

“A ban on cellphones, or a limitation on cellphone use is a bit of a distraction from those big issues, and isn’t going to be the solution that we see in our schools,” she said.

Saskatchewan school division’s will be in charge of implementing their own classroom cellphone rules, and Smith-Windsor expected it will come with benefits and challenges.

“There will be some benefits to students I think in regard to less distraction in the classroom,” she said.

—With files from the Canadian Press.