Phones will be banned in classrooms for all ACT public school students from next year, bringing the territory in line with the other Australian states.
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Students in kindergarten to year 10 will not be allowed to access mobile phones or other personal communication devices at any time during the school day or during school events.
College students will need to put their phones on silent and away during class but will be allowed to use their devices during breaks.
Principals will have the discretion to provide exemptions to students who need mobile devices to manage or monitor medical conditions or meet family caring responsibilities.
Education Minister Yvette Berry said more than 3200 contributions were received as part of the consultation on the new phone policy.
"Through our very broad engagement with the ACT community, we heard that there is strong and consistent support for the removal or minimisation of student mobile phone use in ACT public schools," Ms Berry said.
"There is strong community and public school staff support for students not to use or access their personal communication devices in primary and high school years, and for 'put it away' restrictions during class time for college aged students."
Ms Berry said the feedback showed that older students generally required more flexibility and were more responsible than younger students.
"Given the flexible nature of class times and attendance in the college years, stronger restrictions would also be much harder to implement," she said.
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"We had submissions from unions, the Principal Advisory Group (PAG), ACT Council of Parents & Citizens Associations and community organisations, and we captured student voices through school consultation sessions."
Teachers will be able to ask for a principal's approval to use phones for educational reasons for tasks that can't be done on a Chromebook, such as filming a dance performance.
A transition period will go to the end of Term 1, 2024 to allow time for schools to implement the change and for families needing exemptions to provide documents to their schools with evidence.
The ACT was the last jurisdiction to bring in a system-wide restriction on mobile phone use.
Previously rules around phones were left up to individual schools, leading to inconsistencies between schools and classrooms.
Some schools, such as Harrison School and Evelyn Scott School, installed lockable pouches for high school students to keep their phones in during the school day.
The new policy states that phone can be potentially powerful tools for learning but also acknowledges they are sources of distraction and can contribute to bullying.
The policy says students must not use any device to film or photograph students, staff or visitors and that these images or videos must not be shared without permission.