Board hears calls to address student mental health, explores cell‑phone policies

Public comment and subsequent board discussion focused on student mental health and the role of screens and social media. A resident speaker urged the board to consider banning cell phones at school, citing research on adverse effects of screen time on young people’s mental health. Several board members agreed the topic deserves further examination and recommended that the district seek research‑based evidence and involve principals, teachers, counselors, students and parents in the conversation.

Board members noted two separate roles: setting policy versus enforcing it in daily school operations, and emphasized the need to gather reliable studies and local input before proposing concrete policy changes. The code‑of‑conduct committee and student senate were identified as natural partners to examine electronic‑use rules and to develop recommendations the board could consider in a future agenda item.

Next steps: board members asked staff to coordinate with principals and the code‑of‑conduct committee to gather research, solicit student and parent input, and prepare discussion materials for a future meeting.