Mexico school cellphone restrictions, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico City): Beginning Tuesday, November 3, public and private schools in Mexico must apply new rules governing the use of cellphones and other personal digital devices. The stated goal is to improve learning conditions and classroom coexistence among students.
The measure is part of guidelines issued by the Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP), the federal Ministry of Public Education, which set different criteria according to educational level. In primary and secondary schools, students may not use their cellphones during classes or recess periods.
The regulation aims to reduce distractions inside school grounds and encourage in-person interaction among children and adolescents.
For upper-secondary institutions, known as educación media superior, rules will be defined by each school through agreements with its educational community. Teachers, students and families will be able to set the conditions for device use according to each school’s needs.
For universities, the provision calls for promoting critical digital education, so that young people understand the scope of new technologies, algorithms and artificial intelligence.
Public Education Secretary Mario Delgado Carrillo said the regulation seeks to address effects that excessive screen use can have on school life, particularly on concentration, academic performance and social relationships. The federal agency said the intention is not to exclude technology from educational spaces, but to establish conditions that allow it to be used responsibly and for formative purposes.
To prepare the guidelines, a national consultation was conducted in which more than 650,000 teachers participated. Among the results, eight out of ten teachers reported attention difficulties among their students, while a similar proportion considered it necessary to set measures regulating device use.
The SEP also emphasized the importance of families taking part in building healthy digital habits both inside and outside schools.
The agreement was published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación and provides that state education authorities will make the corresponding adjustments for implementation, according to the characteristics of each state.
