1 year post cellphone ban in Quebec schools, here's how these students are adjusting

indorse in belatedly aug, heights schooltime student Adyson Miniaci didn't know what to expect during her final year of school with no cellphone.

But now as the school year wraps up, she says in retrospect it wasn't as bad as she thought.

The Quebec government announced the cellphone ban in May 2025, stating that all cellphones and personal electronic devices would be banned from the beginning to the end of the school day, including during breaks — applying to both public and private elementary and high schools.

It was a step up from the previous ban the province introduced in January 2024, which only prevented students from using their devices in the classroom.

When the province announced the new ban last year, then Education Minister Bernard Drainville, described the stricter measures as a way to promote more socialization among students and reduce potential conflicts.

"When there are no cellphones, young people talk," he said.

Miniaci, a student at Lester B. Pearson High School, has found that to be true.

"In [an] awkward situation, you can't take out your phone. You have to find another way to deal with that," she said in an interview in May.

Now, she says she spends her lunches making new friends and trying different school activities.

For Secondary 2 student at Lester B. Pearson High School, Samantha Summer Deslauriers, she says not having her phone made her less reliant on technology to do her schoolwork.

"I feel like this year when I'm like in school, I like have to do it. And I feel like that's made me learn a lot more than last year," she said.

Teacher Paul Karpontinis has also noticed a difference.

He said that while he did like using phones as a learning tool for certain lessons, without them students appear to be more focused in class and participation in extra-curricular activities has gone up.

He added that because the ban was introduced by the province, rather than the school administration, students are more likely to comply.

"I think that their acceptance of it was quicker than it could have been," he said.

While the province mandated the ban, schools decide how to enforce it.

"People are scared because now you get suspended. Before you would just get a detention. So there's definitely a big difference," said Secondary 2 student Lily Di Mauro.

Miniaci added that she's used to the ban being in place now, but it was an adjustment for her at the start of the year.

"I actually got suspended," Miniaci admitted, explaining she was caught with her phone in the hallway.

"It didn't happen again," she said.

Karpontinis said the school decided on a "zero tolerance" policy, but he said he wouldn't mind seeing the rules loosen in the future to allow students to use their phones at dismissal or during lunch.

"Maybe there's some room for flexibility there. But if I had a choice between a cell phone ban and no cell phone ban, I would definitely choose the cell phone ban," he said.

Journalist

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