Heather Pauls Murray knew cellphones were restricted in B.C. schools, so she was surprised when her son needed one to do his school work in class.

Murray said her son Hamish recently came home from his Chilliwack high school “frustrated and annoyed.” In order to do his assignments, he was expected to download apps and use Microsoft Teams for group work. For the only kid without a phone in several of his Grade 9 classes, “it was a scramble as teachers tried to find a way to include him.”

In a post on social media, Murray said she was “baffled” because her son’s school has a no-phones policy. Her friends responded with stories about their children being required to use phones to track lap times in gym class, or take photos of math homework because teachers didn’t hand out worksheets.

The

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