Dearborn schools tighten controls on Google third‑party apps, offer parent opt‑out

At the Dearborn City School District board meeting on March 10, district technology staff outlined how the district is restricting student access to third‑party Google applications and said families will be able to opt out of certain apps while retaining core Google Classroom services.

Bob Ady, the district’s Director of Instructional Technology, and Chris Kenneberg, supervisor of networks, told trustees the district limits online access on school networks and Chromebooks to educationally approved tools and uses multiple layers of filtering. Ady said the district’s approach is designed to align technology use with curriculum requirements such as the Michigan Computer Science standards and the district’s MiTech guidance.

"We only allow the educationally relevant websites and tools that we use that are approved by the curriculum department," Ady said. Kenneberg…