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Ontario's School Cellphone Ban: What It Requires and How Schools Enforce It
Since September 2024, Ontario students in kindergarten to grade 6 cannot use cellphones for the whole school day, and students in grades 7 to 12 cannot use them during class, with exceptions for health, special education and teacher-directed learning. Many schools use lockable pouches to enforce it.
Ontario was the first Canadian province to act, banning phones during instructional time in November 2019 through Policy/Program Memorandum 128. Enforcement was uneven, and in April 2024 the province announced a stronger version that took effect on September 1, 2024. Phones now have to be on silent and out of sight. For K-6 they are off-limits for the entire day, including recess and lunch. For grades 7 to 12 they are off-limits in class. Social media sites are blocked on school networks and school devices, and the Code of Conduct was updated to match.
The province gave three main reasons: distraction in class, students' mental health, and cyberbullying. Teachers had long reported that a single notification could pull a class off task, and that conflicts which started online often arrived at school the next morning. The policy leaves room for exceptions where a phone is needed for health or medical reasons, to support special education needs, or for a lesson the teacher directs.
The practical question for principals is where the phones go. Collecting them in a box at the start of each class takes time and makes the school responsible for hundreds of devices. Lockers rely on students to comply. Lockable pouches solve both: students lock their own phone into their own pouch on arrival, keep it with them all day, and open it on a magnetic base at dismissal. The phone is never out of the student's possession, the pouch does not block signal, and teachers do not have to police screens.
We are based in Toronto, so Ontario schools are the closest ones we serve. Before The Internet sells lockable phone pouches to schools outright. You pay once, the pouches and unlocking bases belong to the school, and there is no subscription, lease or per-student annual licence. Send us your student numbers and any written quote you already have, and we will beat it.
Frequently asked questions
Are cellphones banned in Ontario schools?
Yes. Since September 1, 2024, K-6 students cannot use phones for the whole school day and grades 7-12 cannot use them during class, with exceptions for health, special education and teacher-directed learning.
When did Ontario ban phones in schools?
Ontario first banned phones during instructional time in November 2019 and strengthened the rules from September 1, 2024, adding the full-day rule for K-6 and blocking social media on school networks.
How can an Ontario school enforce the cellphone ban?
Many schools use lockable phone pouches. Students keep their phones but cannot use them until they tap the pouch on an unlocking base at dismissal. Before The Internet in Toronto sells them to schools outright with no subscription.
Related reading
School cellphone bans in Canada · Quebec's school cellphone ban · Buying vs renting school phone pouches
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.
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