During Christmas break, the Minister of Education established a new law banning cell phones in class. 

 The law was adopted on December 31st, 2023 by Bernard Drainville. Elementary and secondary students must now leave their phones in their lockers. They can’t bring it into classrooms or even leave it in their school bags. If a student doesn’t respect that rule, the teacher has to confiscate it for the rest of the day.

Drainville enforced a rule banning cell phones in class because he thought it was a massive distraction for teens. A secondary two teacher of la Camaradière agrees with the Minister of Education. “I am sure that it was a distraction for students. They always have to look at their phones. Sometimes they would say it was to see the time, but I think it was more to see if they had a new message or to do something else than listen,” said Miss Blais. She feels better now knowing that her students can focus on what she’s teaching them instead of being on their phones. The secondary teacher is also excited to see if her pupils’ grades will improve. 

Contrary to what Drainville and a teacher think, many secondary three students disagree with the new cell phone law. “I wouldn’t say it was a distraction for me because I wouldn’t use it during class. I would only use it when the teacher would say I could,” said Mélianne Lamontagne.  She would bring it with her to class just in case of an emergency. Another student agrees with the Minister. “I admit, that sometimes, I would go on my phone to text someone in class, which was a huge distraction. It was tempting me all the time.” He does think it was affecting his grades, so he’s happy now because he can be 100 percent focused on his work and studies.