Pursuant to the adopted Act, the student can only use smartphones on the teacher's clear command and for learning purposes and in a situation where the device is used for personal monitoring of health. The director or teacher may also take the device from the child in the event of disobedience and disturbance of the lesson. These restrictions will become effective from the new school year, starting in Finland in August.
Some deputies believed that the act should introduce even greater regulations – the ban on students reaching for smartphones should also apply during breaks and meals.
Finland introduces a ban. The resort indicates forms of violence
The Parliamentary Constitutional Commission decided that The use of mobile phones is not a student's right, but introducing a ban or restrictions in using mobile devices at school “does not interfere with the basic rights”. In Finland, legal projects are reviewed in terms of compliance with the constitution before they are adopted.
According to the Ministry of Education, a uniform statutory ban on using phones during school classes serves to improve science results as well eliminating the phenomenon of intimidation or behavior of harassment or other forms of violence, which is often associated with the use of cell phones by children and youth.
