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Parents and staff push SBUSD to adopt 'tech with intent' after task force flags iPad security and use concerns
Summary
After a Balanced Learning & Technology task force report recommended on‑device filters and limited iPad use, scores of parents, teachers and experts urged the school board to adopt LAUSD-style 'Tech with Intent' guardrails and fix data‑security gaps; staff said junior‑high devices will be collected over the summer to install stronger filters and a third‑party audit is planned.
A lengthy public showing on May 19 focused on the districtiPad program and the Balanced Learning & Technology (BLT) task force report. The report recommended blocking some sites, piloting an 'iPad opt‑out' at junior highs, using iPads only when essential for instruction, requiring digital citizenship training, and deploying a new on‑device content filter.
Mister Vance and his team summarized student and teacher survey findings: junior high students reported device distractions (games) and asked for more monitoring, while many high school students wanted fewer classroom restrictions. Staff said they plan to collect seventh‑grade devices over the summer to load an improved on‑device filter (LineWise) and to expand on‑device protections for all junior high iPads before school starts.
Public comment lasted more than an hour. Cybersecurity professional Simon Bentley and parents presented a public‑records inquiry and a security report that said current contracts and vendor arrangements made it difficult to verify effective privacy and content controls. Parent groups and teachers urged the board to adopt the LA Unified "Tech with Intent" model — limiting take‑home devices for pre‑high school students, configuring devices for education‑only use, applying age‑appropriate guardrails, and continually evaluating impacts — and many speakers said they had signed a petition with more than 400 signatures.
District IT and instructional staff acknowledged security gaps and outlined an operational plan: an audit with Jamf, deployment of LineWise on‑device filters for junior highs, improved MDM controls and an eventual independent third‑party audit by a K‑12 security specialist. Staff said they will provide weekly implementation updates to the superintendent, collect devices this summer for configuration, and pilot policy changes before any districtwide rollouts.
Board members pressed staff on concrete deliverables: whether the district can produce grade‑level reports of device use, how daily screen‑time limits would be monitored at the secondary level, and whether other device platforms would be easier to manage. Staff said LineWise can provide student‑level logs but currently cannot aggregate use across a whole grade without per‑student data; they also noted the operational complexity of coordinating screen‑time limits across multiple teachers and periods.
Trustees asked staff to return with measurable next steps and welcomed a third‑party audit after initial fixes. Several board members proposed that the district let the BLT task force finalize a resolution modeled on LAUSD's policy and bring it to the board for consideration; the board asked staff and the task force to continue work and report back as implementation progresses.
The meeting ended with the board agreeing to pursue immediate technical improvements this summer and longer‑term policy work to balance equity, instructional needs and safety.
