Ontario's Minister of Education has confirmed her government plans to introduce a ban on cell phones in the classroom soon.
Lisa Thompson issued a statement Tuesday morning after the Canadian Press broke a story about the possible ban Monday.
"Ontario's students need to be able to focus on their learning -- not their cellphones," read the statement. "We will be making a formal announcement in the near future."
The statement also confirms the ban, if it is adopted, will go into force this coming September. There are expected to be exceptions for teachers who want to use cell phones during the course of their lesson, for students with special needs, and those who have a cell phone to use for medical reasons.
At the Windsor Essex Catholic District School Board, spokesman Stephen Fields told BlackburnNews.com the board has a policy in place that leaves the use of cell phones in the classroom up to the discretion of the teacher, but it looks forward to reading the directive from the province.
"If they determine that cell phones or other personal electronic devices might be useful for a particular lesson that they're teaching, it allows for them to use those devices," explained Fields. "But also allows for the teacher to send the student down to the office, or to face other administrative consequences for any students who may be using those devices inappropriately."
Over the past number of years, school boards across the province have been using more technology to teach, and Fields said his board is no exception.
"We use technology quite effectively in our classrooms as much as we possibly can. We've got a lot of classrooms where students are actually provided with Chrome books and iPads and those kinds of things," said Fields. "Technology is really an important part of modern contemporary education so long as it's being used appropriately."
At the Greater Essex County District School Board, Superintendent of Education John Howitt said his board has had procedures in place for the use of personal electronic devices since 2010. He believes the directive will leave their policies largely intact.