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Parents and trustees ask Chico Unified to study Chromebook policies; board votes to agendaize workshop
Summary
After parent speakers raised concerns about one-to-one Chromebooks, the board voted unanimously to place a workshop on Chromebook use, safety and research on a future agenda (likely June or July) and directed staff to gather community input.
Trustees voted unanimously on April 2 to place a workshop on district Chromebook use, safety and research on a future agenda after several parents urged the board to take a deeper look at one-to-one devices.
A board member introduced the agenda request, saying parents had raised concerns about how Chromebooks are used in classrooms and at home and whether benefits outweigh risks for younger students. During public comment, parent Carson Bradley asked trustees to "take a deep dive" into the district's one-to-one Chromebook ratio, saying safeguards and policies "are not nearly strong enough for our elementary school kids" and asking board members whether Chromebooks improve academic outcomes or harm attention, handwriting and data privacy. Another speaker, Danielle Penny, urged the board to agendaize the matter so the district can "dig in deep." The board received those comments before debating next steps.
Trustees discussed possible components of a workshop, including a parent survey, teacher reports on in-class usage, disaggregated comparisons to similar districts and independent research on screen time and learning outcomes. Trustees said any workshop would likely require outside experts to summarize research on learning, screen time and child development.
The board approved a motion to agendaize a discussion/workshop on Chromebook use, safeguards and research; members indicated a workshop would most likely be scheduled in June or July and asked staff to plan community outreach (a parent survey was specifically suggested). The board’s action was described as an initial step to gather information; no immediate policy change was made.
Action taken: the board voted to place the Chromebook discussion on a future agenda as a workshop and to pursue community input. Scheduling and scope (survey questions, external experts, data disaggregation) will be developed by staff and trustees in the coming weeks.
Sources: public comment and trustee discussion during the April 2 Chico Unified Board meeting.
