Alberta – the best place to live, work, raise a family, and start a business.

Alberta’s government is committed to ensuring that our province remains the best place to live, work, raise a family, and start a business. That is why, we are investing in the next generation through a new limiting distractions policy to help Albertan students succeed as they pursue their education.
After receiving feedback from more than 68,000 parents, teachers, education partners, and students, an overwhelming consensus showcased how personal mobile devices and social media can negatively impact students’ learning, achievement, and performance.
In addition, countless studies have also showcased that social media can fuel mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, which are growing in prevalence among youth. While the cause of this comes from a variety of sources, our government has decided to take a stand to safeguard the mental health of Alberta students, ensuring that they can receive quality education without the hindrance of social media and personal devices.
Starting September 1, 2024, Alberta’s government is introducing new standards regarding personal mobile devices that will establish restrictions, enforcement procedures, and exceptions for Alberta’s K-12 public, separate, francophone, public charter, independent school authorities, and service operators. These new standards will establish a framework where personal mobile devices will no longer be permitted during class time and access to social media will be restricted.
This policy will also aim to address the unique needs of individual Alberta students. Exceptions will be available province-wide for students using mobile devices for health and medical needs, to support specialized learning needs, and for educational purposes.
By eliminating distractions in schools, we are creating classroom environments that are conducive to learning. This unified approach will have an overarching benefit to students throughout our province, ensuring consistency and clarity for students, parents, and educational staff.
Ensuring that our young Albertans have access to quality education resources is crucial and will ensure that each and every student has the opportunity to learn in a healthy environment that is conducive to their specific needs. We look forward to seeing the positive impact these policies will have on increasing student learning and protecting their mental health.
On that note, as the school year is coming to an end, I want to give a shout out to the teachers, principals, teaching assistants, school trustees, and administrative staff for all that they do. I have visited many schools this year and recently attended graduation ceremonies across our constituency. I wish all our Class of 2024 graduates the very best in their future endeavors and wish a happy summer to the students and their families.