Clearview Public Schools Central Services has created a new policy requiring all schools within the jurisdiction to develop cell phone policies of their own.
The policy acknowledges that while cell phones and other technology "can support learning," they can also be extremely distracting as well, and per instruction by the Government of Alberta, all school boards across the province are implementing policies to minimize their use in classrooms.
Under the policy, children in Grades 6 and under will be required to keep the phone on silent or powered off and stored in lockers or other designated areas during the day.
Students in Grade 7 and above may have their phones in their backpacks, but again they are to be in silent mode or powered off, unless otherwise indicated by teachers. Students in this group may use their phone outside of teaching time, subject to the individual school principal.
Exceptions to the above may be sought for health or medical reasons to support student learning, or in limited use to aid in educational activity, again at the discretion of the principal.
Social media, including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, and others may not be used on school networks or school-owned devices without consultation with the principal and the deputy superintendent.
If a student is found in contravention of the new policy, the phone will be confiscated for the day and returned at the end of class and parents or guardians may be contacted. If there is a subsequent offence, the phone will again be confiscated and taken to the school office until the end of the day, and the parent or guardian will be contacted.
A third and subsequent offence will have the device confiscated, held at the office and have parents requested to come pick it up, with parent-teacher meetings, detention, and potential prohibition of bringing a device to school all on the table if infractions continue to occur.
The division plans to review the plan annually and will communicate everything with students and parents at the start of each subsequent school year.
