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Parents and teachers press board to curb classroom tech and adopt district‑wide phone policies
Summary
More than a dozen public commenters urged Seattle Public Schools to limit student device use, create consistent district guidance on educational technology, and adopt 'bell‑to‑bell' phone‑free policies; speakers cited academic harms, privacy risks, and unequal enforcement across schools.
During an extended public‑comment period, parents, teachers and child‑safety advocates urged the Seattle School Board to reassess the district’s 1:1 device program and to adopt consistent rules limiting classroom technology and cell‑phone use.
Speakers described children accessing harmful online content on school devices, expressed frustration at uneven local enforcement, and called for district‑level policies rather than leaving decisions to individual schools. Danica Noble, who has pursued litigation over online harms, urged a K–12 phone‑free policy and argued broad, consistent rules would relieve individual teachers of enforcement burdens. Educators testified that unconstrained device use can fragment instruction and suggested lab‑based tech access or restricted carts for designated lessons.
Several speakers also raised privacy and safety concerns connected to specific vendors and web‑filtering tools, and asked the district to clarify what protections apply when devices move from school to home. One commenter referenced the district’s recently adopted monitoring software and publicized criminal allegations about a vendor’s CEO to argue for greater scrutiny of procurement and privacy practices.
Board directors engaged with staff about how curriculum adoptions and device use intersect, asked for clearer implementation guidance (for dual‑language classrooms and special education), and discussed state‑level advocacy (positions to WASDA) aimed at supporting district policy changes.
No board vote on device policy occurred at the meeting; board members and staff said they plan further consideration and follow‑up with technical and policy teams.
