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BC United Party Says Classroom Cellphone Ban Will Increase Student Engagement

Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 6:32 AM

By Jay Herrington

(PHOTO BC United Caucus X, formerly Twitter)

With B.C. students returning to schools this week after the winter break, the BC United party is again calling for a ban on cellphone use in K-12 classrooms.

“Despite mounting evidence highlighting the negative impacts of cellphone use in classrooms, increasing concerns from parents and teachers, and other provinces like Quebec taking the lead, David Eby and the NDP have failed to act. If elected, BC United will ban cellphone use in classrooms,” said Kevin Falcon, BC United Leader.

“It’s clear to parents how mobile phone usage is negatively impacting our kids’ educations. The NDP’s reluctance to act is coming at a time when B.C. is seeing a decrease in literacy rates and education outcomes in math and English. Let’s get this done now so students’ focus can return to their studies, not their screens.”

Last month, results from the 2023 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) education rankings had B.C. finishing behind Alberta in all educational categories and finishing well below the national average in mathematics with a drop of more than eight points.

If elected, the party says it will commit to funding lockers for cellphone storage during instructional hours in all K-12 schools that currently lack secure storage capabilities.

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The word "éy7á7juuthem" means “Language of our People” and is the ancestral tongue of the Homalco, Tla’amin, Klahoose and K’ómoks First Nations, with dialectic differences in each community.

It is pronounced "eye-ya-jooth-hem."