The legal framework

The use of mobile phones can seriously affect the quality of listening and concentration required for teaching activities. Its use is at the origin of a significant part of incivility and disturbances within establishments. Mobile phones can arouse lust, racketeering, theft between comrades.

In addition, their use on the premises of establishments reduces the quality of collective life, which is essential for the development of students. Finally, mobile phones are sometimes vectors of cyberbullying and facilitate access to violent images, in particular pornographic images, for young people, via the Internet.

For all these reasons, the use of mobile phones and any other terminal electronic communications equipment is prohibited inside schools and colleges.

The scope of the ban

The prohibition relates to the use of mobile telephones and any other terminal electronic communications equipment (tablet or smart watch, for example) inside schools and colleges.

The law also allows the board of directors of high schools to introduce, in the internal regulations, the ban on the use by high school students of these devices. This prohibition is valid during school and extracurricular time. It is also effective during all school activities organized outside the school or school.

Exceptions under the law

Students with disabilities or with a debilitating health disorder retain the authorization to use medical devices associated with communication equipment (device enabling diabetic children to manage their blood sugar level, for example).

Concerning the conditional prohibitions, the law allows to foresee circumstances, in particular the educational uses, and places in which the internal regulations expressly authorize the use of a mobile phone by the pupils. These are cumulative conditions, the internal regulations having to specify both circumstances and places.

The implementation of the ban in schools and establishments

Freedom left to schools and establishments

On the school premises, students’ mobile phones must be switched off and stored.It is up to each establishment to determine practical arrangements to ensure compliance with the law. The establishment of a system of lockers allowing the pupil to deposit his telephone during the day and to recover it before leaving the school and or the college, is an interesting track.

Modification of the internal regulations

In schools, the principal adjusts the internal regulations and submits them to the vote of the school council.In colleges, the internal regulations are the sole responsibility of the board of directors after prior instruction from the standing committee.It now includes:

  • the ban on mobile phones within the school or establishment, provided for by the law of August 3, 2018;
  • the charter relating to the uses of information and communication technologies;
  • emergency situations which can lead a student to ask an adult to use his laptop in a place defined by the regulations. With regard to boarding schools, places and time slots for use will be explicitly mentioned.

The Charter of civility rules for college students, which incorporates the main elements of the internal regulations in a simplified form, must also incorporate these new rules.

Responses in the event of a breach of the rule

 An appropriate, individual and graduated response must be given to any use of the mobile phone within the school or establishment. The procedures are defined in the internal regulations. It can take the form of a school punishment (additional duty, time of detention, etc.), confiscation of the device now authorized by law or, for the most serious cases, a disciplinary sanction provided by article R. 511-13 of the Education Code.

Answers to your questions on supervising the use of mobile phones

Can students have a mobile phone on them?

The text provides for a ban on the use of mobile phones but does not prevent their detention by the students if they are turned off and put away. They may be offered to deposit their equipment in individual lockers when the organization of the premises allows, and in agreement with the communities concerned.

Only the use of the mobile phone is prohibited inside schools and colleges?

The prohibition provided for by article 511-5 of the education code concerns all terminal electronic communications equipment. All connected objects therefore fall within the scope of the text: telephones of all generations, connected watches, tablets, etc.

What to do if a student has an urgent need to join his family?

A pupil may need during school time to contact one of his legal representatives, in particular in the event of a medical emergency or early departure from the establishment. It is then up to the director or the head of the establishment, to recall the methods of contact in case of necessity between the students and their parents and to provide, if necessary, in the internal regulations for the methods and places where they can spend these calls with their mobile phone.

How to reassure parents during a school trip?

Different parent information methods can be implemented: information on the establishment’s display panel, voice service to leave messages that can be viewed by parents, dedicated page on the establishment’s website, cyber notebook ( blog). The internal regulations may, if necessary, provide rules for the use of the mobile telephone by the pupils.

Is it possible to ban the use of the mobile phone on the premises of schools and colleges?

The prohibition being provided for by law, it applies in all establishments as soon as it is promulgated. Schools and colleges must therefore bring their internal regulations into conformity as quickly as possible.

Is the use of the mobile phone prohibited at the boarding school?

The use of mobile phones in boarding schools is prohibited by law, unless otherwise stated in the establishment’s internal regulations.

What educational uses can be made of mobiles?

The law now allows the educational use of mobile phones, provided that they are expressly authorized by the internal regulations. This use must be supervised by a member of the educational community. A guide drawn up by the digital department for education provides all the useful details on pedagogical projects based on experimentation WITH (Bring Your Personal Communication Equipment)

Can adults use their mobiles on school and college grounds?

The use of mobile phones at school and college is prohibited only for students. However, the management staff as well as the educational teams must demonstrate a reasonable use of their communication devices, to allow the students to properly understand the measure.

Is the use of mobiles authorized during teaching activities outside the confines of schools and colleges?

This supervisory measure applies to all teaching-related activities, even those that take place outside the premises of establishments. This concerns activities taking place in the rooms reserved for the practice of physical education and sports, cultural outings, school trips, etc.

What are the answers in the event of unauthorized use of a mobile phone?

A suitable response must be given to any use by a student who uses his mobile phone on the premises of the establishment despite the ban. This response, which the law provides may go as far as the confiscation of equipment, must be specified in the internal regulations of the establishment or school. In colleges, it can take the form of an academic punishment (additional duty, time of detention, etc.) and for the most serious cases be associated with a disciplinary sanction provided for in article R. 511-13 of education code.

How long can we confiscate a mobile?

The confiscation of a student’s mobile phone must not continue beyond the end of the day’s teaching activities. Any confiscated telephone must be returned either to the pupil himself or to one of his legal guardians.