Schools within Wild Rose School Division (WRSD) will be towing the Province’s line when it comes to personal mobile device use in the classroom.

As per a provincial ministerial order earlier this year, new rules were put in place Sept. 1 requiring the use of personal mobile devices to be banned during instruction time, with some exceptions.

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While certain restrictions came into place at the beginning of the year, school divisions have until Jan. 1, 2025 to come up with their own set of rules.

WRSD superintendent Brad Volkman says it’s that limbo period that caused some confusion in the rollout process.

“That’s the confusing part, if [the government] is giving us until January to come up with a policy, why are you expecting us to implement it already in September?” says Volkman. “I think we’re finding a pathway for doing that.”

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Volkman says there’s is some dissonance between the ministerial order and what some school boards are actually proposing.

For example, he says some divisions are considering an outright ban on devices on school property, while the ministerial order only prohibits devices during instruction time.

In the short term, Volkman says WRSD will be allowing students to have access to devices during lunch and breaks.

In an early-summer statement to The Canadian Press, Alberta Education Minister, Demetrios Nicolaides said while the ban takes effect in the fall, he’s leaving it up to local school authorities to finalize their own policies by the new year.

Those include rules on how personal mobile devices will need to be stored, roles and responsibilities, consequences, and annual notification that are reflective of the province’s expectations.

Administration spoke with school principals at the start of the year to ensure the rules were followed, says Volkman. However, he says most indicated similar rules around mobile devices were already in place during class time.

Volkman adds, any policy needs to come with some flexibility, such as students with special needs being able to access tablets during instruction time.

“For some students, it’s a real addiction, so we have to have some measure of grace as well,” says Volkman.

The division will soon be putting a draft policy together before the Jan. 1 deadline, says Volkman, with an opportunity for staff and students to provide feedback.

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(With files from The Canadian Press and rdnewsNOW)