The Abbotsford board of education voted 6-1 in favour at their Feb. 13 meeting of limiting the use of cellphones in schools.

This vote was in response to Premier David Eby recently announcing that measures would be taking place in B.C. schools.

Trustee Jared White voted against the motion, but did not state a reason during discussion.

Sean Nosek, superintendent of the Abbotsford school district, was present to answer questions from the trustees.

“We’ll be looking to craft some language to be in compliance,” Nosek said.

In the Jan. 26th Ministry of Education announcement there were three concrete actions laid out surrounding cellphone use: a restriction of cellphones in schools; launching of services to remove images from the internet and pursue predators; and legislation to hold social media companies accountable for harm caused.

The province will work with school districts to ensure policies are in place by the start of next school year, a topic Nosek addressed in the meeting.

“It is still an evolving conversation, but what we do know is we have some clarity around the nature of the restrictions so (cellphones) are not distractions in classroom time,” Nosek said.

Although it is a provincial initiative, there will be discussions at the local school level involving parents and teachers.

“I imagine we start with a draft of some language,” Nosek said. “Collect some feedback and what the implications are, then refine that and come out of the gate the next school year with the right language in place.”

Eby’s move is in response to a 12-year-old Prince George boy who died by suicide after falling victim to online sextortion in October. On Jan. 29, the province launched two new services to stop or prevent distribution of explicit images and pursue perpetrators.

In the spring, the province will introduce legislation to hold companies accountable. The legislation would allow the government to obtain costs caused by harms to children and adults from social media platforms. The government would use the funds to provide counselling programs and put further education programs in place.

More information can be found at news.gov.bc.ca.

READ MORE: B.C. to limit cellphone use in schools, take action against extortion