Pennsylvania School District Keeps Mandatory Tablet and Chromebook Use

The Lower Merion School District in Pennsylvania will maintain its policy requiring students to use tablets in kindergarten and Chromebooks beginning in second grade. The district stated it cannot permit students to opt out of the classroom technology after parents raised concerns.

A parent group called Pencils Over Pixels has circulated petitions asking the school board to allow an opt-out policy and to impose a bell-to-bell cellphone ban. The petitions also call for creation of a Technology Advisory Committee independent of technology vendors and cite a 2022 Internet Safety Labs study that found up to three-quarters of education-technology apps may sell student data.

The next school board meeting is scheduled for June. The district said it is considering policy adjustments that could include tighter cellphone restrictions or limits on younger students taking devices home. Pencils Over Pixels and the Lower Merion School District did not immediately respond to requests for comment.