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Heads Up
Advocacy Brief

Reflecting a growing international movement toward phone-free schools, all ten Canadian provinces now have policies in place restricting the use of cell phones and other personal digital devices in primary and secondary schools. However, these policies vary significantly across jurisdictions, resulting in a patchwork of rules—many of which require strengthening. Sustained success relies on active buy-in from governments, school boards, principals, teachers, parents, and students.

This advocacy brief equips advocates with the evidence needed to engage provincial governments and school boards in advancing durable policies, consistently applied.

The Case For Phone-Free Schools

The digital landscape for Canadian youth has shifted drastically, creating an environment that undermines learning and safety.

We need to act now.

  • Widespread phone access: 93% of young Canadians1 (aged 14–17) have their own smartphone; 85% received their first device before the age of 14.
  • The screen time surge: As of 2022, Canadian adolescents’ average daily screen time2 surged to nearly eight hours—four times the national recommendations3.
  • The safety risk: Youth exposure to online harms and personal harassment is 30–50% higher4 than in the rest of the population.
  • Worse learning outcomes: Excessive screen time has been linked to increased student distraction, more cyberbullying, and lower test scores5.
  • Public support: More than four in five Canadians (81%) support6 school phone restrictions, with more support for stronger approaches like bell-to-bell bans.

Calls To Action

To support provincial and district-level policy development, the following actions align with emerging best practices for phone-free schools

  • Articulate a clear rationale, grounded in public support and evidence regarding student distraction, learning, and well-being.
  • Implement Bell-to-Bell Standards: Strengthen guidance to ensure policies cover the entire school day, including breaks and lunch, ensuring expectations are clearly communicated and consistently enforced.
  • Adopt "Off and Away" Storage: Develop policies where phones are stored in lockers, pouches, or secure boxes rather than pockets or bags, as physical separation performs significantly better than "no show" rules.
  • Proactively Engage Key Groups: Involve students, teachers, and parents early and consistently to build the consensus necessary for effective implementation.
  • Track Implementation and Impacts: Commit to ongoing evaluation to identify implementation challenges and assess long-term academic and social impacts.

Detailed frameworks for drafting these policies and managing school-level transitions are available in our Policymaker Playbook and School Implementation Guide available at the QR code below.

Impact at a Glance

Evidence from around the globe shows that when schools move to full day phone restrictions, benefits to learning, school climate and student mental health follow.

Academic Benefits

In Spain7, PISA scores rose by the equivalent of 0.6 - 1.0 years of learning in math and science following a ban. In Florida8, test scores rose by approx. 1.1 percentiles in the second year of implementation

School Climate

In South Australia9, bell-to-bell policies led to a 57% decrease in social media issues and a 38% decrease in device-related behavioral incidents

Educator Satisfaction

A survey of 20,000+ U.S.10 educators linked strict, school-wide policies to higher teacher satisfaction

Mental Health and Well-Being

In Norway11, phone bans reduced bullying for all students and led to fewer mental health-related healthcare visits among girls.

1

MediaSmarts. Young Canadians in a Wireless World, Phase IV: Life Online. Ottawa: MediaSmarts, 2022. https://mediasmarts.ca/sites/default/files/2022-11/life-online-report-en-final-11-22.pdf

2

Poirier, Krystel, Lise Gauvin, Slim Haddad, Richard E. Bélanger, Scott T. Leatherdale, and Anne-Marie Turcotte-Tremblay. “Evolution of Sleep Duration and Screen Time Between 2018 and 2022 Among Canadian Adolescents: Evidence of Drifts Accompanying the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Journal of Adolescent Health 74, no. 5 (May 2024): 980–988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.12.023

3

SickKids Foundation. “Limiting Screen Time.” Accessed 2025. https://www.sickkidsfoundation.com/aboutus/newsandmedia/stories2023june_akh_limited_screen_time

4

The Dais. Survey of Online Harms in Canada 2025. Toronto: The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University, 2025. https://dais.ca/reports/survey-of-online-harms-in-canada-2025/

5

OECD. “Managing Screen Time: How to Protect and Equip Students against Distraction.” PISA in Focus, no. 124 (May 2024). Paris: OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/7c225af4-en

6

The Dais. Phone Restrictions in K-12 Schools: Survey Brief. Toronto: The Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University, 2025. https://dais.ca/reports/phone-restrictions-in-k-12-schools-survey-brief/

7

Beneito, Pilar, and Óscar Vicente-Chirivella. “Banning Mobile Phones in Schools: Evidence from Regional-Level Policies in Spain.” Applied Economic Analysis 30, no. 90 (2022): 153–175. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEA-05-2021-0112

8

Figlio, David, and Umut Özek. “The Impact of Cellphone Bans in Schools on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Florida.” EdWorkingPaper No. 25-1315 / NBER Working Paper No. 34388. Annenberg Institute at Brown University / National Bureau of Economic Research, October 2025. https://doi.org/10.26300/9y5r-yx11

9

South Australia Department for Education. “Behaviour Improves as a Result of Mobile Phone Ban.” News release, February 3, 2025. https://www.education.sa.gov.au/department/media-centre/our-news/behaviour-improves-as-a-result-of-mobile-phone-ban

10

Duckworth, Angela, Hunt Allcott, and Matt Gentzkow. “Phones in Focus: Preliminary Findings from a National Survey of More Than 20,000 Public School Educators.” Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania / Stanford University, October 7, 2025. https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/angela-duckworth-over-20000-educators-share-insights-school-cell-phone-policies

11

Abrahamsson, Sara. “Smartphone Bans, Student Outcomes and Mental Health.” Discussion Paper Series in Economics No. 1/2024. Bergen: Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics, February 2024. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4735240