Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Devices topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public commenters urge limits on elementary device use, ask for opt-out policy and accreditation rule changes
Summary
During Citizen Open Forum parents, advocacy groups and a religious schools association urged the State Board to consider developmentally appropriate device rules, statewide opt-out policies tied to religious objections and changes to licensure rules for teachers at non-state-accredited private schools.
TOPEKA '1 Parents, education advocates and association representatives used the State Board of Education's Citizens Open Forum on July 8 to press the board on device use in elementary schools, parental opt-out rights and licensure rules for nonpublic schools.
Jamie Finkledigh, president of the Kansas Association of Independent and Religious Schools, asked the board to place proposed changes to licensure and mentoring rules for teachers in non-state-accredited schools on a near-term agenda. She said some nonpublic schools that are accredited by nationally recognized agencies should have local options for mentoring and professional-development committees and that student-teacher placements in recognized non-accredited schools should count toward licensure.
Kim Whitman, speaking on behalf of families concerned about early-childhood screen exposure, urged the board to establish "clear age-appropriate technology standards." She asked board members to consider whether elementary students should have unrestricted internet-browser access or real-time news feeds and raised concerns that districts routinely issue 1-to-1 devices without districtwide scrutiny of developmental appropriateness. Whitman said one Kansas district she served on a tech action team had adopted a 30-minute daily screen allowance for four-year-olds.
Emily Brownlee presented an argument drawing attention to private schools in Silicon Valley that limit student technology use. Brownlee said those practices should prompt Kansas districts to reconsider routine full-device deployments for young children, and she called for clear standards.
Representing Moms for Liberty in Johnson County, Erica Sheets urged the board to adopt a standard requiring Kansas schools to adopt opt-out policies allowing parents to excuse their children from activities that "conflict with their religious beliefs." Sheets cited the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Mahmud v. Taylor to argue that districts should be reminded that parents hold opt-out rights and that lack of local opt-out policies could put federal funding at risk.
The forum also included a presentation by Mary Sinclair of the Kansas PTA on how to interpret NAEP scores and how Kansas scores compare nationally. Sinclair's brief emphasized that NAEP 'proficient' is not the same as grade-level proficiency and urged careful use of the national assessment when shaping policy.
Why it matters: The board does not directly operate most classroom-technology decisions; local boards set 1-to-1 device policy. But the State Board can adopt guidance, convene task forces and include technology expectations in state-level guidance and graduation/assessment policy. Parents' calls for a statewide opt-out standard and for clarified licensure rules for teachers in non-state-accredited private schools may lead the board to place those items on future meeting agendas.
What's next: Board members and department staff said they would bring some of these topics back for discussion, including the licensure/mentoring requests for teachers in non-state-accredited schools and future sessions on screen time and AI literacy.
Public speakers (selected): Jamie Finkledigh (Kansas Association of Independent and Religious Schools); Mary Sinclair (Kansas PTA); Kim Whitman (parent/advocate); Emily Brownlee (parent/advocate); Erica Sheets (Moms for Liberty, Johnson County).
