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Public commenters press board on fetal-development video and harms of classroom screen use
Summary
Two public speakers asked the board to adopt a fetal-development video into curriculum (with parent opt-out) and urged reduced classroom technology use, citing research about handwriting and learning; the board scheduled an August 20 work session to attach and review the video as a public document.
At the June 23 Marion County School Board meeting two members of the public urged the board in opposing directions on instructional material and technology.
Amber Pennuto told the board she supported including a fetal development video in curriculum and said parental opt-out would be available. She described state legislative activity, stating that Senate Bill 1090 "died in the committee process" at the end of the session while House Bill 1071 had strong support; she also defended Live Action as a content producer despite past social-media suspensions. Pennuto framed the material as important to conveying the sanctity of life and shared a personal history of regret about an abortion.
Melanie Slaughter urged the board to limit digital technology in classrooms, arguing that screen use reduces comprehension and citing a book she called Digital Delusion (author Jared Horvath). She asserted that "students who take handwritten notes score 34% higher on concept-based exams than kids that use laptops," and urged a return to handwritten note-taking and printed reading in classrooms.
Board members reacted to public comment by scheduling a work session on Aug. 20 to include the fetal-development video as an attached document to the agenda (the board said it would not show the video publicly at the meeting but would make it available for review). Board members did not take immediate policy action at the June 23 meeting; they asked staff to include the material in the forthcoming work session so the community can view the document before comment.
Several claims raised in public comment — legislative outcomes and empirical statistics cited from outside research — were asserted by commenters and were not validated during the meeting record. Board members noted they expected to review the material and return to the topic in a later work session.
