Back to school in Ontario: Changes parents can expect as students return to class

A number of changes are coming to Ontario classrooms this fall as students return to school. Here’s a list of what can be expected:

Cellphone bans

Schools in Ontario will start cracking down on cellphone use in class. As of September, students in kindergarten to Grade 6 will be asked to keep their phones on silent and out of sight the entire day, unless permitted by an educator. Students between Grades 7 and 12 will have some additional flexibility with cellphones only banned during class time.

If a student breaks the rules, their cellphones would need to be immediately surrendered to a staff member and parents will be notified. Students could also face suspension for repeated violations.

Education Minister Jill Dunlop told reporters at a news conference on Thursday that enforcement is expected to be “a big issue,” but added that there are existing disciplinary policies in place that will allow educators to enforce the new policy.

“The minimum standards have been set and there are discipline policies in place and we will support educators and principals in the actions that they take,” she said. It will be largely left to individual school boards to determine how to best enforce the new rules.

As part of the new policy, social media sites will also be banned from all school networks and devices. Sharing and recording videos of photos of individuals without explicit consent will also be banned, but it is unclear how this will be monitored or enforced.

Curriculum changes

Students entering Grade 9 will need to earn a Grade 9 or 10 Technological Education Credit in order to obtain their diploma. This change comes a year after the government created a new Grade 10 digital technology class to teach students “computational thinking” and cybersecurity.

The government will be launching two new experiential courses for Grade 9 and Grade 10 students. One is titled “Building the Entrepreneurial Mindset,” and the other is “Launching and Leading a Business.” Officials say they want to give students “Real-life experience on starting and running a business.”

Grade 9 Canadian Geography courses will no longer be split between academic and applied classes. This was previously announced as part of the government’s efforts to completely de-stream Grade 9.

The government previously announced that it would be revising the curriculum for Grade 10 Career studies to include learning on mandatory mental health literacy. Mental health modules were added to Grade 7 and Grade 8 Health and Physical Education curriculum in 2023.

Starting this year, the EQAO math test in Grade 9 will comprise 10 per cent or more of a student’s final math mark.

Vaping changes

The government plans to spend $30 million to install vape detectors and other security upgrades in schools. Students caught with vape or-cigarette products on school property as of September will be required to surrender them and parents will be notified immediately.