The superintendent of education for the Avon Maitland District School Board does not believe the ban on cell phones in Ontario classrooms will change much in the Avon Maitland Board.
Jane Morris said the board does not have a board-wide policy on cell phones now, and she's not aware of any schools that have a school-wide policy. She said, for the most part, it's left to the discretion of the teacher to set out ground rules for the use of cell phones in the class.
Morris added, she supervises 12 schools in the board and she has not seen many instances where students have their cell phones out at their desks. She said she has seen classrooms where teachers are using them for specific purposes.
"The first bullet underneath the use of the cell phones during instructional time will be permitted under the following circumstances -- for educational purposed as directed by the educator," said Morris. "So I can see how this is very similar to what we're already asking our teachers to be thinking about."
Morris also said the language in the legislation fairly closely reflect what the Avon Maitland board is doing now, so the ban won't be a significant change from what is already happening in Avon Maitland classrooms.
