Ontario to restrict cellphone use and ban vaping in schools – April 28, 2024 [Video]

Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce announces policy changes to cellphone use and vaping in schools. He is joined at the news conference in North York by his parliamentary assistants Natalie Pierre and Billy Pang. Brady Carballo-Hambleton (Heart and Stroke Foundation’s senior vice President for for Ontario and Nunavut), Peter Selby (head of the Nicotine Dependence Clinic at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health), and Hayden Lai (student trustee for the York Region District School Board) also take part in the announcement.

The changes will come into effect in the 2024-2025 school year. Students in kindergarten to Grade 6 will be required to keep phones on silent and out of sight for the entire school day, unless they receive permission from an educator. Students in grades 7 to 12 will not be allowed to use their cellphones during class time. Social media websites will also be removed from all school networks and devices. The policy changes come following four Ontario school boards launching lawsuits against multiple social media companies for allegedly disrupting students’ fundamental right to education.

Students who are caught with vapes or cigarettes will be required to surrender them to the school, and their partents will be notified immediately. In its recent provincial budget, the Ontario government announced $30 million to install vape detectors and other security upgrades in schools.