Parents and advocates press LAUSD for tablet opt‑out, device limits and parental controls

Public commenters at the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education meeting on Nov. 19 urged the district to give families a clear opt‑out for classroom tablets and to restore parental content controls on district devices.

Mike Pearl, who identified himself as a tech journalist and a parent, told the board he and other families were “shocked” to learn some elementary classrooms hand out one‑to‑one tablets without an opt‑out option. “Just give us a box to check that says you won't put one of these things in our kids' hands,” Pearl said, arguing the district should allow parents to decline a device for kindergarten students.

Ana Mexen, a member of the group Schools Beyond Screens, relayed multiple district parent complaints about Chromebooks and classroom device use, including reports that students were viewing YouTube or playing games during class and that a long‑term substitute allowed Minecraft during much of the school day. Mexen also quoted a kindergarten teacher who said the mandated 90 minutes per week of I‑Ready practice is developmentally inappropriate for young children.

Andrea Self, a parent, told the board she believes daily, all‑day device use harms children’s cognitive and emotional development and cited NIH imaging studies, a meta‑analysis she described as involving hundreds of thousands of children, and review findings she said link heavy screen exposure to attention and emotional problems. Self asked that the district implement daily device‑free instructional blocks, restore parental controls on school devices and restrict non‑instructional apps.

Amanda Baker, another parent caller, described an incident in which a second‑grader used a school Chromebook to take and display an explicit photograph and said the devices make it difficult for teachers to monitor students and manage classroom time. Baker said a return to paper homework in one class sped completion and improved focus and warned that mounting device concerns are prompting some families to consider leaving LAUSD.

Speakers repeatedly raised privacy concerns, saying some educational apps share student data with third parties; callers urged the board to clarify whether district devices bypass parents' home content restrictions and to require that non‑instructional apps be blocked.

The board did not respond on the record during the public‑comment period. Following the comments, the board recessed into closed session to discuss student discipline, personnel matters including the superintendent’s evaluation, pending litigation and labor negotiations.

Why it matters: LAUSD provides devices districtwide; changes to device policy, parental controls or opt‑out procedures could affect classroom practice, student privacy and enrollment. Commenters cited research and anecdotes to support their requests; the studies and statistics they named were presented to the board by speakers and were not independently verified at the meeting.

What’s next: The board moved into closed session; no policy action or vote on device rules was recorded in the public portion of the meeting.