The Allan Labor Government has introduced legislation to extend Victoria\u2019s school device ban to all schools, including non-government schools, from 28 January 2027.<\/p>\n
The changes build on rules first introduced in public schools in 2020 and will now apply to private and independent schools, creating a single statewide standard.<\/p>\n
The legislation also expands the ban beyond mobile phones to include wearable technology and personal audio devices.<\/p>\n
Under the proposed laws, mobile phones must be switched off and stored away from the first bell to the final bell.<\/p>\n
Wearable devices, including smart watches, must have notifications, cellular connectivity and recording functions disabled during school hours.<\/p>\n
Personal audio devices, such as wireless earbuds and headphones, cannot be used during school hours.<\/p>\n
The expanded rules apply to devices capable of messaging, recording or accessing online content during school hours, including wearables that can take photos, record video or receive notifications.<\/p>\n
Exceptions will apply for students who need devices to monitor health conditions.<\/p>\n
The legislation will make Victoria the first state to apply these restrictions to wearable technology in schools.<\/p>\n
Some support the changes, arguing they will reduce classroom distractions, limit unauthorised recording and help students focus during lessons.<\/p>\n
Others say consistent rules across all schools will remove confusion for families with children in different systems.<\/p>\n
However, some would argue the expanded ban could be difficult to enforce, particularly when it comes to wearable devices that are less visible than mobile phones.<\/p>\n
There are also concerns about how schools will monitor compliance and apply the rules consistently across different settings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Allan Labor Government has introduced legislation to extend Victoria\u2019s school device ban to all schools, including non-government…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[49,48,195,61],"class_list":{"0":"post-581201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gadgets","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-gadgets","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}