Parents, teachers and students urge district to curb screen time and tighten student-data controls
Summary
At a Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board meeting, more than a dozen speakers — including educators, health professionals, parents and a student — urged the district to reduce classroom screen time, scrutinize educational technology and strengthen student data protections.
A slate of parents, teachers, health professionals and students urged the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education on Wednesday to limit in-class screen time, reconsider some educational technology platforms and tighten student-data protections.
Speakers said long stretches of device use are harming student sleep, attention and social development, and they called for clearer district policies and better vetting of vendors. "Let's do what's best for our kids' learning and well-being," said Mary Beth Roche, an Estes Hills parent and digital-wellness educator. "When we know better we do better."
The concerns ranged from classroom pedagogy to privacy. Rebecca Chasnovitz, a primary-care pediatrician and associate professor at the UNC School of Medicine, told the board youth now "spend an average of 7 and a half hours every day on screens," and that excessive screen use exacerbates sleep problems, headaches and mental-health symptoms. Jessica Zaghemzy, a UNC School of Nursing professor, said studies show multitasking on devices lowers comprehension and urged limiting personal devices in classrooms.
Student-data privacy featured prominently. Derek Sadie, a parent with a 25-year career in educational technology, cited the recent PowerSchool breach and national analyses showing widespread data sharing by educational apps. "The business model for EdTech is simple. They extract user data for profit," Sadie said, and urged the district to demand vendor transparency, reduce the number of platforms in use, and require vendors to commit to not sharing student data and to delete data at the end of the school year.
Voices from inside classrooms included a middle-school student, Ben Pavlis, whose remarks were read by his mother, Lauren Pavlis. Ben criticized classroom device use and said many students "play video games on websites such as pizza edition" and bypass school filters, adding that EdTech programs like IXL and Edpuzzles provide little educational value and are often frustrating.
Several speakers described classroom experiences in which devices distracted rather than aided learning. Johnny Stabroek, a parent and former English professor, described a school math night where his kindergarten son was engaged at tables using hands-on activities but became isolated and disengaged at a tablet-based activity. "He put on his headphones, he logged into the tablet, and he stopped speaking to me," Stabroek said.
Speakers proposed concrete steps: audit average daily screen time by school, prioritize age-appropriate uses of devices, limit personal device use, centralize and reduce the number of ed-tech platforms to allow meaningful oversight, and require stronger vendor data protections and auditability. Derek Sadie suggested vendors should disclose what they collect and commit to deletion of student records at year end.
Board members acknowledged the concerns and urged continued conversation with classroom teachers, students and the community. Board member comments noted some issues (for example, state funding and policy limits) lie beyond the local board's authority.
Clarifying details recorded at the meeting included references to a recent PowerSchool data breach, national reports on app data-sharing rates cited by speakers, and multiple specific classroom examples of device overuse and student disengagement. Speakers requested an audit of device time and tighter vetting of ed-tech platforms.
The board did not take a formal action on these requests during the meeting; speakers were invited to continue the conversation with staff and board committees and to provide more input for policy development.
