B.C. children returning to school next week will have restricted access to their cellphones. 

On Tuesday (Aug. 27) in Vancouver, Premier David Eby announced a "bell-to-bell" ban of cell-phones. Education Minister Rachna Singh and Attorney-General Niki Sharma joined him in the announcement at Lord Nelson elementary school. 

Eby said the restrictions aim to create a distraction-free learning environment and will apply to students inside and outside of classrooms during school hours, adding the ban responds to research that shows the harmful effects of cellphones on socialization, literacy and mental health by way of material accessible online. 

"We know that beyond the impact of socialization, kids having access to apps with algorithms that feed them constantly more enticing, more extreme content has an impact on their health," Eby said. He added that both teachers and parents are grateful for the change, claiming that some had wanted the change to come sooner.  

"They (parents) want their kids go to school and learn and not be on their phone," he said, adding that it also helps to free parents from the pressure of children demanding cellphones in response to peer pressure. 

Eby said the ban will include exceptions for children with disabilities. "But the bottom line is that the phones are not going to be out in the classrooms, they are not going to be out in the hallways, they are not going to be out in the school-yards," he said in predicting that this consistency will help teachers. Eby added that it will be up to teachers to handle the logistics of the ban, as long as they meet its objective.

"Whether they have a box or whether they require students to have them left in the bags or however they manage their classroom order -- as long as that expectation is met...and that the kids are clear (about) expectations and that teachers are underlining that," Eby said. 

The province had first announced plans to limit cellphones in January, saying at the time that officials would be working with school districts to ensure all schools have policies in place by the start of the next school year.

"The process...was that the province sets out the expectation," Eby said. "'Here is what we want: from bell-to-bell, we want a restriction on cellphones. School boards, go and do the work with your community and develop a policy that is consistent with that expectation, taking into account your regional and student population realities.'" 

Eby added that Singh's ministry provided a draft policy, which the "vast majority" of school boards then adopted, notwithstanding minor modifications. 

B.C's decision to ban cellphones is part and parcel of a larger digital agenda designed to curb the harmful effects of social media. 

When Eby first announced this agenda in January 2024, he pointed to the story Carson Cleland. The 12-year-old boy from Prince George died by suicide in October 2023 after having shared intimate images online with somebody who had pretended to be a young girl around his age. Carson then received extortion threats. Government later tabled legislation to recover health care costs caused by social media, but withdrew it after social media companies had agreed to "good faith discussions" about possible solutions. 

Eby said that work will continue. "We will do it in Carson's memory and we will do it to make sure that we never see another like Carson's if we can help it, because our kids deserve that." 

This isn't the only change coming to schools. The new school year will also see the implementation of buffer zones around school buildings.

Legislation tabled this spring gives police the power to arrest or issue tickets to anyone found impeding access, disrupting or interfering with educational activities or attempting to intimidate individuals within 20 metres of school property.  

The zones will be in effect on school days from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. and during extracurricular school activities at all public and independent schools with limited exceptions.

These zones respond to concerns about a recent run of protests around schools against Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity 123 programming. Eby Tuesday cited 20 such protests during his remarks. "We need to make sure our schools are safe places to learn for kids," Eby said in criticizing the Conservative Party of B.C. under John Rustad for opposing the legislation. 

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Rustad added that he would replace SOGI-123 with anti-bullying initiatives.

Other changes coming next week include an expanded school food programs and mandatory CPR training.