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Teachers’ union and hundreds of parents urge restraint on new device rules; parents ask for limits on recreational screens
Summary
Representatives of the Port Washington Teachers Association and several parents urged the board to retain or tighten the current device rules rather than adopt the proposed revisions without broader stakeholder input; parents said a community letter has more than 350 signatures asking to eliminate recreational screen use during transitional and unstructured periods.
Regina McLean, president of the Port Washington Teachers Association, thanked the district for adding math AIS positions and said teachers are "particularly pleased" to support expanded intervention. On the device policy, she said the union was surprised to see revisions and questioned the need for change: "We were a little surprised to see it being discussed because as far as we were aware, the policy that was put in place last year seemed to be working fine."
Andrew Vannella, 1st vice president of the PWTA, said the previous device rollout had broad stakeholder input and was broadly successful. Parents at the podium said they organized a community letter (more than 350 parents signed) requesting three changes before the school year: eliminate screen use during transitional/unstructured periods; remove internet‑enabled devices for Pre-K through second grade; and adopt an "approved-only" elementary student internet-access model. Speakers asked the board to act quickly and collaborate with families and teachers before finalizing the device policy.
