MONTREAL — Quebec’s new rule banning cellphones in classrooms will be in effect when students return from the holiday break, making the province the second to implement such a measure, after Ontario. The directive, which aims to reduce distractions in class, enters into force Dec. 31 and applies to public elementary and secondary schools, but it offers teachers flexibility to let students use phones for specific pedagogical purposes. Many Quebec schools already had rules limiting cellphones in classes before Education Minister Bernard Drainville introduced the ban in August, but some child advocates say it’s in the interest of children to make restrictions as tough as possible. Days ahead of Drainville’s announcement, Étienne Bergeron, a high school teacher from Warwick, Que.,…
