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Parents and clinicians press district for Chromebook allow‑lists, stricter home‑use rules and vetting of education software
Summary
A large public comment period focused on Chromebook home use and EdTech. Parents and clinicians urged allow‑list internet access on school devices, stronger vetting of educational tools, and limits on home Chromebook use; speakers cited developmental and mental‑health research and a petition with over 400 signatures.
During an extended public comment period, parents, teachers, clinicians and other community members urged the Board to adopt stricter policies governing school-issued Chromebooks and district use of educational technology.
Kate Bruce, a founding member of MUFSD Parents for Healthy EdTech, said the group circulated a petition with over 400 signatures and requested immediate safety steps, an "intentional use" policy written with parent and teacher input, and a teacher-controlled allow‑list system. "We created the petition not to be combative, but really just to express how important this is to our community," she told the board.
Clinicians and educators described potential harms and inconsistent classroom practice. Psychiatrist Erica Gorovich said longitudinal clinical observations show increases in eating disorders, suicide attempts, gaming addiction and academic decline in cohorts exposed to unsupervised screens; she urged following American Academy of Pediatrics guidance and restricting overnight home internet access for school devices. Alana Ripnickel Farrell, an attorney with product experience in tech and AI, warned that student data is routinely collected and that laws have gaps; she urged careful vetting and limiting data exposure.
Multiple parents described examples of inappropriate content accessible to children and inconsistent teacher practices that sometimes turn Chromebooks into recreational devices. Speakers noted some teachers already use classroom allow‑lists successfully and asked the district to scale such controls. Several thanked district leaders for recent changes at the Hammocks campus but said more systematic policy is needed across all buildings.
The chair read preliminary election and budget vote returns during the public comment period (reporting strong 'yes' votes for the budget and proposition tallies from multiple polling locations). The board said final results would be posted after verification.
