Blog · Schools
Nova Scotia's School Cellphone Ban: What Schools Need to Know in 2026
Yes. Since September 2024, Nova Scotia's provincial directive requires elementary students to keep phones off and stored all school day. Students in Grades 7-12 must store them during instruction, with breaks and lunch left to each school.
The Provincial Directive on Personal Cell Phone Use in Schools applies to public schools. Students in Pre-primary to Grade 6 must keep phones turned off and stored for the whole day, including non-instructional time. Grades 7-12 must keep them off and stored during instruction. Teachers may direct phone use for a planned lesson, and exceptions for medical or ability needs are set with the Student Planning Team.
The province consulted from February to May 2024, and Education Minister Becky Druhan announced the directive on 6 June 2024. It applied from the 2024-25 school year. Schools had to write local plans with their School Advisory Councils and share them with families. The directive remains in force, and no substantive change was found for 2025-26 or 2026-27.
Each school sets its own storage method and tells families how it works. Teachers may ask students to leave phones with them in a secure place. Secondary schools decide whether phones are allowed at lunch, breaks and free periods. Emergency routes for parents to reach students through the school stay in place.
Whatever Nova Scotia's directive requires, lockable pouches let students keep their own phone, locked, from the first bell to the last, so the school does not collect, store or answer for devices. Before The Internet ships lockable pouches and unlocking bases from Toronto to schools across Canada, including in Nova Scotia, and can print the school's crest on them. Schools buy them outright: one price, no subscription, lease or per-student annual licence. Send us your student numbers and any written quote you have, and we will beat it.
Frequently asked questions
Can high school students use phones at lunch?
It depends on the school. For Grades 7-12, each school decides whether phones can be used at breaks, free periods and lunch.
Are there exemptions for medical needs?
Yes. Exceptions for medical or ability needs are agreed with the Student Planning Team, which includes parents or caregivers.
Can Nova Scotia schools use lockable pouches?
Yes. The directive requires phones to be off and stored but leaves the storage method to each school's local plan.
Related reading
School cellphone bans in Canada · Phone-free schools toolkit · Bell-to-bell school phone policy template
Written by the team at Before The Internet, a Toronto-based phone-free company that rents lockable phone pouches for events across North America and sells them to schools and venues worldwide, shipping purchases to any country.
Planning a phone-free school?
Buying for next term or next year? Send your student numbers and target start date. A person replies within 24 hours with a real figure for your budget, and we ship worldwide.
Name
Work email
Phone
Event date
Headcount
Not sure what you need yet?
Keep reading
Trade shows and launches
Phone-free concerts and festivals