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Board debates screen-time monitoring; Securly vendor limits complicate grade-level usage reports
Summary
Parents and board members asked whether district filtering vendor Securly can report device usage by school or grade and show time-of-day distinctions; district tech staff said Securly cannot easily produce those organizational/time-distinguished reports though an optional product (Reveal) exists, and the board asked staff to research alternatives and policy options.
Board members discussed tracking student device use and screen time during the instructional day, and whether the district’s current filtering vendor, Securly, can provide the desired reporting.
A parent-board member asked if Securly can generate reports by school or grade and by time of day. Technical staff (Speaker 13) replied that Securly cannot pull that organizational‑unit, time‑distinguished report easily; the platform can list allowed and blocked sites but cannot reliably distinguish whether usage occurred during school hours or at home. Staff noted Securly does offer an additional product called Reveal (not enabled in the district) that would show more detail, but time-of-day distinctions may still be limited.
Board members discussed possible add-on apps, vendor competitors and policy approaches, including suggestions to work with NEOLA on sample policies that set class-based maximums (for example, 20–30 minutes per class) and to regulate screen time during the school day rather than after hours. Middle-school leadership told the board that sixth graders will keep devices at school next year (K–6 devices do not go home), which the administration said was part of grade-level practice changes.
Administration said it will investigate reporting options, vendor capabilities, and potential policy language and return with proposals at a future meeting.
