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Lake Pend Oreille superintendent urges parents to back wider phone limits after presentation on youth mental health
Summary
Superintendent Becky Meyer and district teachers reviewed research linking heavy smartphone use to anxiety and attention problems and asked parents to coordinate community norms if the board is to consider stricter, schoolwide phone restrictions.
Becky Meyer, superintendent of the LAKE PEND OREILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT, opened a parents' night by saying the issue is “something I'm super passionate about” and asked families to consider collective steps that would let the district pursue stronger school phone policies.
Meyer told attendees the topic grew out of a 2024 student safety summit and that the district has already implemented partial restrictions at some high schools. “Right now, the board is comfortable where we're at, which is between the passing periods,” she said, adding that a fuller daylong ban would require parent support and a cultural shift. Meyer said the district safety task force and school board will be the decision points on any formal change.
Teachers Becca Palmer (Clark Fork Junior Senior High School) and Carter Baranski (social studies teacher) summarized research they said shows rising anxiety, depression and attention problems among adolescents as smartphone use has grown. Baranski cited ED visit data and prevalence increases beginning around 2012 and said some hospital-based measures represent “hard data” beyond self-report.
The presentation did not announce a policy change. Meyer said the district will continue outreach to elementary parents this spring, distribute materials and encourage parents to form informal 'friend-group' agreements about device timing at home as a first step toward reducing in-school phone dependence.
