Parents and cybersecurity expert press Santa Barbara Unified to curb iPad use, block distracting apps and tighten privacy controls

Parents, teachers and a local cybersecurity consultant pressed the Santa Barbara Unified School District Board on March 24 to tighten controls on district‑issued iPads, block distracting platforms and close what they described as active privacy and security gaps.

In the most sustained public‑comment block of the evening, speakers described classroom distraction, barriers to learning for neurodiverse students and technical vulnerabilities in district device management. “Distributing weaponized tools to children without proper safeguards is not a neutral act,” parent Autumn McFarland said, urging the board to reduce device reliance and implement meaningful guardrails.

Why it matters: dozens of families and staff told the board that district devices are being used in ways that harm focus and well‑being and that the current configuration exposes student data. They asked the board to prioritize student safety and learning by blocking noneducational services, improving content filters, enforcing mobile device management (MDM) settings, and limiting unsupervised access to AI tools.

Simon Bentley, a parent and cybersecurity consultant, told the board he had tested district iPads and found multiple practical weaknesses. “Your content filtering has gaps that a motivated student can bypass in under 15 minutes,” Bentley said. He said Jamf MDM allowed students to sign in with personal Apple IDs and install unauthorized apps, cited an active student email thread with bullying content, and said students were accessing free AI tools on district accounts without district agreements that protect privacy. “AI has no place in your students’ hands right now without strict supervised guardrails,” he said.

Several parents asked the board to block YouTube access on student devices. Elementary‑level and secondary parents said the platform’s short‑form content design undermines attention and learning; one parent said she had to keep a school iPad locked in a safe to limit her child’s access. Teachers and a former teacher who spoke asked for consistent offline options for assignments and greater adoption of paper‑and‑pencil alternatives where evidence shows better outcomes for some learners.

Board and staff response: the superintendent and staff said the district has begun work on intentional technology use, has convened a technology task force and is taking steps at the elementary level. A staff speaker and other public commenters recognized initial district actions but asked for faster or stronger measures, including specific blocking of YouTube and remediation of the MDM configuration faults Bentley described.

What’s next: the board did not take immediate policy action at the meeting. Several trustees asked staff to return with additional information, and the district’s technology and legal teams were referenced as partners in follow‑up. The public urged the board to accelerate both technical fixes (MDM and filtering) and policy changes (consent, opt‑out options and clearer device‑use rules).

Representative quotes:"Distributing weaponized tools to children without proper safeguards is not a neutral act," Autumn McFarland, parent.

"Your content filtering has gaps that a motivated student can bypass in under 15 minutes," Simon Bentley, cybersecurity consultant.

The board continued with its agenda after public comment; no vote on technology policy was taken that night.