Note that this is a ministerial policy formally issued by the Minister for Education under section 5.2.1(2)(b) of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic) (the Act) for compliance with Ministerial Order No. 1515 – Personal Electronic Devices in Victorian Schools (Ministerial Order 1515) and section 4.3.1(6)(ca) of the Act.
Policy
This policy sets the requirements for student use of personal electronic devices, including mobile phones, smart glasses, wearable devices and personal audio devices, and outlines the requirements which schools must include in their mobile phones and personal electronic devices policy.
Summary
- Schools must have a local policy that restricts student use of personal electronic devices, including mobile phones, smart glasses, wearable devices and personal audio devices.
- School local policies must include the following restrictions for students who bring personal electronic devices to school:
- Mobile phones must be switched off and securely stored during school hours.
- Smart glasses must be switched off and stored during all school activities and securely stored during school hours noting that students are not permitted to wear or use smart glasses at any time on school premises (or at any school-organised event or activity): refer to Smart Glasses and Covert Filming Devices.
- Wearable devices such as smartwatches must have notifications, cellular connection and recording functions turned off during school hours. Schools may also choose to require all or some wearable devices to be securely stored.
- Personal audio devices such as headphones must not be used during school hours.
- Schools must provide secure storage that restricts students’ access to their mobile phone and smart glasses during school hours.
- Exemptions to restrictions may be granted if certain conditions are met. Such exemptions must be documented.
- Schools will manage student non-compliance in accordance with their existing Student wellbeing and engagement policy.
Details
Schools are required to develop a local policy restricting personal electronic devices, including the requirements outlined in this ministerial policy.
Restricting student mobile phones and other personal electronic devices helps to ensure that:
- school is a learning environment free from unnecessary distractions and disruptions
- students can interact with each other face-to-face, without the distractions and social pressures that these devices can cause
- schools are safe environments for students, workers and visitors, where child safety, privacy and OHS risks associated with personal electronic devices are addressed by limiting their use.
A downloadable policy template for Victorian government schools is available on the department's School Policy Templates Portal (staff login required)(opens in a new window). The template policy includes all the content that schools must include in their local policies to be compliant with Ministerial Order 1515 and this policy. This template also provides guidance on where schools may add local requirements.
Schools can adapt the template to suit their local circumstances provided that they do not undermine, contradict or detract from Ministerial Order 1515 or this policy. For example, schools cannot change or remove the exemption categories.
Exemptions
Exemptions to restrictions on personal electronic devices other than smart glasses can be granted to individuals or groups of students by the principal, or by a teacher, under the following 3 exemption categories, in accordance with the school’s local policy:
- to support student learning, for example:
- specific learning activities and assessment activities
- reasonable adjustments for a student because of their disability or learning need
- to support student health and wellbeing, for example:
- students with a disability or health condition
- students who are young carers
- to manage risks to students relating to participation in offsite activities, for example:
- travel to and from excursions and camps
- activities not on school grounds and unsupervised
- during inter-school or inter-campus travel.
A teacher can grant an exemption for devices other than smart glasses if it aligns with their local policy and the direction of the principal.
Where an exemption is granted, the student can only use the device for the specific purpose outlined in the exemption. Schools are encouraged to consider the impacts an exemption might have on others, particularly where a device can capture and record students and staff. Refer to the Guidance tab for further examples of where and how exemptions may be applied.
Exemptions for smart glasses
For specific guidance on granting exemptions for smart glasses, refer to Smart Glasses and Covert Filming Devices.
Documenting exemptions
Exemptions must be documented, including the student or group of students to whom the exemption applies, the basis for the exemption, the period for which it applies, and any limitations or conditions.
Schools are encouraged to document exemptions using documentation they regularly develop, for example:
- a learning-related exemption documented in a unit plan, lesson plan or as an annotation to a lesson plan when a teacher is preparing to teach
- a reasonable adjustment documented in an Individual Education Plan
- a health-related exemption documented in a student’s Health Support Plan
- an exemption for a student with specific wellbeing needs documented in a student’s administrative record. A summary of student adjustments can also be included in securely stored, access-restricted lesson or unit plans, provided they do not disclose specific student health or disability information
- an exemption for an offsite activity, excursion or camp, documented in risk assessment planning documents.an exemption for a student who is a young carer, documented in a localised student record.
For personal audio devices, a principal or their delegate can document an exemption for a group of students or for specific uses by including it in the school’s local policy. These exemptions must fall within the 3 categories of exemption. For example, the school’s local policy could allow the use of personal audio devices:
- for learning purposes during private study periods in a designated study area
- during music classes for the purposes of listening to electronic instruments.
Schools may also add an exemption in their local policy to allow the use of personal audio devices where instructed by a teacher to manage an unexpected health or wellbeing issue during school hours.
Exemptions for personal audio devices which are included in a school policy do not need to be documented separately.
Exemptions for personal audio devices made by a teacher and all exemptions for mobile phones, smart glasses or other wearable devices cannot be outlined in a school’s mobile phones and personal electronic devices policy. These must be separately documented for the relevant student or group of students.
Exclusions
The requirements of this policy do not apply to:
- out-of-school-hours care
- travelling to and from school
- school-owned devices
- assistive hearing devices.
Students undertaking workplace or curriculum-related offsite learning activities managed by an external provider, for example, work experience, structured workplace learning, VCE studies or a VET course must comply with the policies of the provider or employer responsible for the activity. While undertaking these offsite activities, they do not need to comply with the personal electronic devices policy of their school. Schools do not need to provide an exemption for these activities.
For mobile phones, wearable devices and personal audio devices, the requirements of this policy do not apply to events or extracurricular activities happening outside of school hours. However, schools are encouraged to apply this policy or appropriate restrictions during these events or activities.
During activities that occur out of school hours, schools do not need to document exemptions for mobile phones, wearable devices or personal audio devices.
Smart glasses must be switched off and stored for the duration of any school activity, including activities outside of school hours. Exemptions to this restriction must be documented.
Secure storage
Personal electronic devices owned by students or their parents/carers are brought to schools at the owner’s risk. Please refer to the department’s Claims for Property Damage and Medical Expenses policy and the template Insurance (including personal property damage) policy (staff login required)(opens in a new window) on the School Policy Templates Portal.
Where students bring a mobile phone or smart glasses to school, the school must provide secure storage for these items during school hours. Secure storage is storage that cannot be readily accessed by those without permission to do so.
The principal is responsible for determining the appropriate arrangements for secure storage. Examples of secure storage include:
- student lockers that are lockable
- a lockable cupboard stored in an administrative office.
- During activities that occur outside school hours, schools do not have to provide secure storage for mobile phones and smart glasses.
Enforcement and reporting
Schools will enforce the policy, including behavioural consequences outlined in their existing Student wellbeing and engagement policy and in accordance with schools’ existing legal and policy obligations.
For example, behavioural consequences may be imposed where students fail to comply with the local school policy on mobile phones and personal electronic devices, including if they refuse to relinquish their device to school staff when asked.
Where a student has relinquished their personal electronic device to school staff, schools are expected to return it to the student or their parent/carer at the end of the school day. This is to support student safety when travelling to and from school. Search and seizure powers outlined in the department’s Weapons and Other Harmful Items – Banning, Searching and Seizing policy do not extend to personal electronic devices.
Schools are not required to inspect students’ wearable devices, audit their settings or otherwise verify that notifications, cellular connection or recording functions are turned off, but may do so with consent from the student. Schools are also not required to inspect students’ glasses to verify if they are smart glasses but may do so with the student’s consent. However, schools must clearly communicate the restrictions on personal electronic devices to students and parents or carers and respond to any observed or reported noncompliance in accordance with their Student wellbeing and engagement policy.
Further information about enforcement and reporting can be found in the Guidance tab.
Review
Schools must review their local policy on students using mobile phones and personal electronic devices every 4 years or earlier where required.
A review should focus on the effectiveness of the school’s policy in meeting the objectives of this policy, which aims to support:
- student learning
- attention
- safety
- privacy
- opportunities for face-to-face social interaction.
Definitions
Assistive hearing device
A device manufactured for the primary purpose of assisting a person with a hearing impairment to hear, including hearing aids, cochlear implants, external sound processors and remote microphones designed for use with hearing aids or cochlear implants.
Mobile phone
A telephone with the capacity to connect to cellular telecommunication systems.
Personal audio device
Wired or wireless headphones, earphones, or headsets.
Smart glasses
A device that is designed to be worn as spectacles and has the capability to send, receive, store, record or process digital information.
Wearable device
A device that is designed to be worn on the body and that has the capability to send, receive, store, record or process digital information, such as smartwatches, smart rings, or fitness trackers, but excluding assistive hearing devices, smart glasses and surgically implanted medical devices.
Related policies
- Behaviour – Students
- Claims for Property Damage and Medical Expenses
- Managing and Reporting School Incidents (Including Emergencies)
- Photographing, Filming and Recording Staff and Other Adults
- Photographing, Filming and Recording Students
- Smart Glasses and Covert Filming Devices
- Student Engagement
- Weapons and Other Harmful Items – Banning, Searching and Seizing
- Additional policies related to reporting incidents are listed in the Guidance tab
Relevant legislation
Updated