Sachin Maharaj

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To prevent compulsive patterns from developing, parents and educators must come together to build healthy phone-use habits both in school and at home. (Getty Images/UInsplash+)

School phone bans are working in Toronto elementary schools — and failing in high schools

Sachin Maharaj, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa and John Ranellucci, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

Results of a teacher survey suggest high schools would be better off adopting bell-to-bell restrictions with consistent phone storage protocols.
Real per-student provincial operating funding to boards last year was at the lowest level seen over the last 10 years, according to The Financial Accountability office of Ontario. A school hallway in Ottawa, in December 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

What Ontarians need to know about ‘student achievement’ reforms that will run school boards like businesses

Sachin Maharaj, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa; Beyhan Farhadi, University of Toronto, and Vidya Shah, University of Toronto

All students and families will be impacted by cuts and provincial reforms being imposed on Ontario schools, and those who are already disadvantaged will bear the brunt.
It’s easy for governments to make big policy announcements, and more difficult to change what happens in thousands of classrooms and schools. (Shutterstock)

For successful school phone bans, school administrators and parents need to support teachers

Sachin Maharaj, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

It simply cannot be left up to individual teachers to enforce cellphone restrictions in schools without significant support from school administrators and work to bring parents on board.
Some fault teachers for an inability to restrict phone use at school. But both students and some parents resist this, and problems far exceed in-class distraction. A student puts her phone in a holder at Delta High School in Delta, Utah, in February 2024. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

School board social media lawsuits: For too long we’ve sought individual solutions to a collective problem

Sachin Maharaj, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

Four Canadian school boards are suing social media giants. This comes as 95 per cent of Ontario schools report needing more resources to support student mental health.
School trustees play an important role in shaping education, yet during election time voters often have little awareness of trustee candidates. (Shutterstock)

Even school boards are now experiencing severe political polarization

Sachin Maharaj, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa; Stephanie Tuters, University of Toronto, and Vidya Shah, York University, Canada

According to the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, far-right groups have been trying to stack school boards with candidates harbouring anti-equity ideologies.

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