Parents and teachers urge Unionville-Chadds Ford to limit classroom devices and pause AI in K–8 instruction

At the board’s May meeting at Pecopson Elementary School, a coalition of parents and educators urged Unionville-Chadds Ford School District officials to curb widespread classroom use of Chromebooks and other educational technology and to pause generative AI in elementary and middle grades.

Speakers representing the group Slow Tech UCF presented handouts and survey data and asked the board to authorize a comprehensive audit of all EdTech tools used across the district and to form an independent EdTech Council to make binding policy recommendations. "We shouldn't wait another year or two to take action," Sandy Young, a founding member of Slow Tech UCF, told the board.

The speakers said district assessment data distributed in their handouts show declines in several statewide measures over the past decade. "Of those students who scored proficient or advanced, PSSA ELA scores went down 12% on average," one presenter said, and the group urged the district to examine whether increasing EdTech adoption is correlated with those declines. Claire Van Epps, a University of Pennsylvania professor, cited national and international studies she said show intensive EdTech users score lower on some measures and urged the board to restrict screen time in classrooms.

Medical and behavioral concerns were a prominent theme. "Tablets and computers are designed for rapid task switching, which fragments attention," said Heather John, a psychiatrist and Slow Tech planning committee member, adding that adolescents are particularly vulnerable to attention fragmentation and addictive design features in gamified platforms.

Slow Tech’s policy proposals included: instituting age-appropriate screen-time limits; replacing open internet access on school-issued devices with a vetted whitelist of educational sites; prohibiting screen time used as rewards or downtime; increasing transparency and parental notification when new EdTech tools are adopted; and imposing a moratorium on generative AI in grades K–8 until independent safety reviews are complete.

Speakers also presented a parent survey of 212 respondents that prioritized concerns about handwriting and deep-reading skills, social interaction, exposure to inappropriate content, and inability to sustain focus. "Nearly 80% of parents who responded support prohibiting screen time used for rewards or downtime and limiting school devices to a curated whitelist," a Slow Tech representative said.

Board members thanked the presenters for their research and tone and said they would review the materials. Several directors said the administration and board have discussed EdTech issues and noted that some related policy work is already underway. The board did not adopt a new policy at the meeting; several members encouraged submitting follow-up materials and suggested further review through existing committees.

The district’s existing policies were referenced during discussion (administrative guidelines and policy numbering were discussed during the policy section), and the board noted more work sessions will take place before any formal policy changes are adopted. The public comment period on EdTech spanned multiple speakers and more than an hour of testimony.