LPOSD board considers electronic device policy

PONDERAY — Lake Pend Oreille School District trustees gave the first reading of a proposed policy regulating students’ electronic device use at their monthly meeting Tuesday.

The policy — which would apply to any student-owned device capable of accessing the internet or sending an electronic message, including smartphones, tablets and smartwatches — would prohibit students from using devices during class time and in bathrooms, locker rooms or changing rooms. 

“There has been a rising concern that spending too much time on social media or using cell phones may be detrimental to students’ physical and mental health. The Board’s priority is that all students are engaged in learning without distraction,” the proposed policy reads. 

If approved by trustees, the policy will replace the district’s existing rules surrounding personal electronics use, which specify that students may carry devices but are not allowed to use them in a way that disrupts the educational process. 

During the meeting, Superintendent Dr. Becky Meyer told trustees she had originally hoped the policy would also exclude devices during passing time and lunch periods. 

“I just think, for the mental health of our students, it would be best if they just put them away and didn’t have them all day,” she said. 

After saying she had received feedback from administrators and students suggesting passing time and lunchtime restrictions weren’t immediately necessary to improve student learning, Meyer said she could support a policy that only prohibited device use in classes and bathrooms. 

Meyer also told attendees that students and teachers have been receptive to existing measures aiming to limit distractions from electronic devices and recalled a visit to Sandpoint High School where she evaluated smartphone use. While watching several hundred students pass through a popular hallway, she was “pleasantly surprised” to count 16 of them using electronic devices.  

“I was shocked. I thought there would way more,” said Meyer. 

The proposed policy only applies to student-owned devices. Since the district issues a laptop to every student at the beginning of each year, teachers will still be able to utilize internet tools for instruction if trustees implement the policy. 

In October, the Phone Free Learning Act — a statewide executive order signed by Gov. Brad Little — created a $5,000 award for districts that implement a policy during the 2024-2025 school year limiting cell phone use in schools. 

The order describes the governor’s intent to help students avoid the hazards of social media and prevent distractions that inhibit learning in Idaho’s public schools. 

In other business, the board voted to renew the district’s existing superintendent contract, extending Meyer’s tenure through at least the 2025-2026 school year.