Parents and teachers ask Arlington Heights SD 25 to pause new edtech adoptions after petition and data-breach concerns

More than 650 parents, teachers and students urged the Arlington Heights School District 25 board on May 19 to rethink how the district uses classroom technology, asking leaders to pause new edtech and generative AI adoptions, measure and cap screen time, re-evaluate currently approved products, and protect offline instruction.

At the start of the public-comment period, parent Erica Pace said she had gathered 682 petition signatures and asked the board to "pause all new edtech and AI adoptions, re-evaluate what we currently have, track screen usage on one-to-one devices for full transparency, and protect offline learning." She cited international and U.S. studies she said correlate heavy classroom device use with weaker learning outcomes and recommended the district take a more cautious approach.

Teachers and parents gave concrete examples. Melissa Maher, a computer-science and math teacher, told the board that one-to-one devices have not produced stronger technical skills for students and can displace practice in handwriting, troubleshooting and deep problem-solving. Jennifer Han, a school psychologist and parent, said she supports targeted technology for instruction but asked the district to "be bold and pivot" where research suggests harm and to provide a formal district response to the petition.

Several speakers also raised concerns about student safety and privacy. Andrew Bradley, an IT professional and parent, described a district notice posted the night before that said a student gained access to an internal document containing student names, email addresses, passwords, student IDs, grades and homeroom information. Bradley called the incident a "serious failure of basic cyber security practices," urged an independent review of security safeguards, and recommended corrective action.

Student speakers described classroom experiences they said were negatively affected. First-grade student Tessa Bulman said a reading app "doesn't help me practice what I'm working on for speaking" and asked to return to books and paper and pencil for reading and writing practice.

The board did not take immediate policy action at the meeting. Several trustees and the superintendent acknowledged the public comments and expressed willingness to collect and present districtwide data. Board members agreed to add an informational agenda item to a future meeting — suggested for July — for administration to present baseline data on technology use across grades and buildings so the board can consider next steps.

What the petition asks - Pause all new edtech and generative AI adoptions. - Re-evaluate all existing edtech products for instructional effectiveness. - Track and cap student screen use districtwide. - Protect and restore offline learning opportunities and printed materials, with accommodations for students with IEPs and 504 plans.

District response and next steps Superintendent Dr. K said staff had anticipated that this topic would come up and that the administration would prepare data as a starting point for board discussion. Trustees requested the administration compile information on which digital tools are in use, frequency of use, the district’s vetting process, and the recent security incident so trustees and the community have a shared set of facts.

The board asked administration to return with data and proposals before making any formal policy changes. No formal moratorium or rule change was approved during the May 19 meeting.

— Reporting by the Arlington Heights School District 25 board meeting transcript.