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Nearly two full school years since Nova Scotia implemented a policy prohibiting the use of cellphones in classrooms, high school student Ishaan Anandavaskaran says it’s been beneficial for his learning.
“I feel like it reduces distractions ’cause cellphones are like super distracting, right? It’s definitely a really good thing in my opinion,” he said.
In September 2024, the provincial Department of Education mandated that all students turn off their personal devices and store them away during instructional time.
The policy says exceptions can be made if junior high and high school teachers allow phone use for educational purposes, or if students need a device for learning accommodations.
Most other Canadian provinces have introduced similar measures in recent years.
Education Minister Brendan Maguire says the feedback he’s received from educators has been positive.
“Kids are not distracted looking down at their phones, being on social media, being on the internet,” he said in an interview. “They’re paying attention and in a lot of cases, they’re actually participating more in the classroom instead of being distracting. They’re actually there and present in the moment.”
Asked if students have generally been following the rules or if enforcement has been an issue, Maguire said they’ve had a “small percentage of reports of kids not listening.”
“Overall … it’s been really successful. And for the majority, like we’re talking over 99 per cent of the students, it’s been a fairly easy transition,” he said.
Letting go of his electronic devices in class hasn’t been so easy for Grade 12 student Asher Cartmill, who says he’s “pretty addicted” to his cellphone.
“I’m just not gonna follow it,” said Cartmill of the cellphone policy. “It is a good idea though, objectively.”
According to a freedom of information request in the province’s public disclosure database, there have been 4,790 recorded disciplinary actions taken against students for violating the cellphone ban as of Jan. 31, 2026, since it came into effect.
There were 133,752 students registered for public school in Nova Scotia this year.
Anastasaia Kliubina said she finds most of her classmates at Citadel High School adhere to the ban, and those who don’t are reported to the principal’s office and have their phones confiscated for the rest of the day.
“It makes students more disciplined,” she said.
Peter Day, president of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, said the cellphone ban was highly effective at the beginning.
He said the messaging around the rules was loud and clear, and teachers felt supported by leadership within the regional centres for education and the department of education. But over time, he said that messaging has “gone out the wayside.”
Day said information around the policy should go out to families and students several times per year so teachers do not have to be “cellphone police.”
“Here are the expectations. Here’s the acceptable behaviour, here’s what’s not acceptable,” he said.
“Have that reinforced, share it with parents, share with the students again.… I don’t know if you’ve worked with teenagers but sometimes you have to tell them something more than once for them to actually follow through with it,” said Day.
Maguire said his department has heard these concerns from Day before.
“If there is a need for us to clarify and strengthen that message … if that’s something we need to do at the end of the year or beginning of next school year, we will do that,” said Maguire.
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