Consistency, collective effort and commitment emphasized as key elements to make new policy work

By Toria Barnhart for the Park Record (May 20, 2025)

Park City School District officials are exploring a district-wide cell phone policy that could restrict student device usage from bell to bell following the passage of Senate Bill 178 earlier this year.

Superintendent Lyndsay Huntsman emphasized that a new policy is being crafted to improve student engagement, youth mental health and human connection. It’s also in response to a new law taking effect July 1 that prohibits the use of cell phones and smartwatches in classrooms unless a school district establishes a policy outlining specific exemptions.

District administrators, including incoming Park City High School Principal Caleb Fine and interim Treasure Mountain Junior High Principal Isaiah Folau, who will take over as principal of Ecker Hill Middle School, participated in a community forum moderated by Mountain Mediation Center on Monday night at the Blair Education Center. The event was intended to encourage students, parents and staff to share their thoughts on a new strategy that would be adopted for the 2025-26 academic year.

“Most importantly, we want human connection. Our students are there to learn, and we don’t want distractions,” Huntsman said.

In August 2024, school board members set strict limits prohibiting students from using cellular devices during school hours. Yet Huntsman said the execution of the current policy has been inconsistent across different schools.

There has been a successful implementation of a pilot program of magnetic locking pouches made by the company Yondr at Treasure Mountain Junior High. However, the building for eighth and ninth-grade students will close at the end of the school year. So now administrators are looking to establish a cell phone policy for grades K-12 district-wide.

Under the current policy, Ecker Hill students are required to keep their phones out of sight and in their lockers, backpacks or other secure locations throughout the day. Treasure Mountain students have the Yondr pouches, and the high school doesn’t have a formal policy because each teacher adopts a different set of rules with expectations that students are to keep their devices from being a distraction.

Fine, the principal of Treasure Mountain until he was named interim superintendent last year, and Folau said they are “pro-pouch.” They affirmed that the Yondr system has been “wildly successful” with incidents related to student cell phone usage decreasing from 78 last year to 32 so far this year. There are also remedies in place to address ongoing challenges, such as requiring a parent to pick up a device if there’s a recurring issue.

School district officials recognized the system at Ecker Hill is not perfect, but Folau said, “You do not see kids scrolling through their phones during passing periods or have them out at once.” Teachers also have catchalls, such as calculator pouches for students to put their phones in, or an assistant principal who will come and collect phones if there is a concern.

Yet with eighth-grade students moving to Ecker Hill next year and freshmen heading to the high school, administrators agreed there needs to be a uniform, reinforced routine.

“I think the data is making it very clear that the kids on cell phones are distracted learners, and that’s a big part of it. Then, the other thing is just the mental health and well-being of kids on phones. It distracts you from learning, and then you’re also engaging in typically unhealthy behaviors if you’re just continuing to scroll and scroll and scroll,” Fine said. “I think it’s appropriate to give our kids the tools they need and the supports they need to really put it away. How many of you can put away your phone for seven hours? The answer is very few, myself included.”

About 40 people attending the event were split into four small groups, where they discussed questions including:

• “Why should or shouldn’t cell phones be in the classroom?”
• “Should cell phones be looked at differently in standard classrooms vs. in specialty classes like film, photography, learning AI vs. in the halls/lunchroom?”
• “What is important to you regarding how a cell phone policy should be implemented and enforced across or within schools and age groups?”
• “What do you want the Park City School District and/or school principals to know or to take into consideration as they make their decisions about policy changes and school practices?”
• “What are your thoughts around how cell phones in the schools affect students’ mental health, bullying, social safety, and/or addiction?”

Most high school teachers participating in the groups explained that cell phone usage is “nonstop” in their classrooms, and the educators are the ones “battling” students over their policies. Sometimes, students use burner phones to appear as if they’ve turned in their devices.

They also questioned whether students are developing soft skills that allow them to form meaningful connections with their peers.

Parents had mixed reactions, recognizing the dangers of social media use on teen mental health as described in “The Anxious Generation,” by Jonathan Haidt, but also said they want to be able to keep in touch with their kids. Most were in favor of limiting cell phone usage in some capacity. A survey of Park City School District parents suggests around 85% support substantial restrictions.

A few students also attended, largely opposed to the cell phone ban because they want to be treated as adults. They said the devices can be useful for making lunch plans with friends and staying up to date with changes to sports practices or games. The teens were also in favor of letting students regulate themselves, though they said they don’t receive any formal education about the impacts of technology on their brains.

Huntsman said the district may consider purchasing class sets of iPhones without cellular capacities for classes where cell phones may be beneficial. That would also aid with equity efforts, as some students may not have the most recent technology.

Park City School District officials will continue collecting community feedback about how to develop a comprehensive policy before the upcoming school year. A survey will remain open for about two weeks.

Huntsman said she expects a new policy will be announced within the next month.

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