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Parents urge Lake Oswego School Board to restrict classroom screens and pause generative AI
Summary
A coalition of Lake Oswego parents urged the board to tighten classroom technology use, calling for a closed (whitelist) internet model, a Google audit and disabling collaboration features, a pause on general classroom use of generative AI, and a permanent committee to oversee tech decisions.
Dozens of parents told the Lake Oswego School District 7J board that classroom technology has become excessive and urged immediate policy changes.
Dominique Alpin Johnson, speaking for Lake Oswego Parents for Responsible Technology, said the group’s survey described current classroom technology as “excessive, dismayed, grim, and horrified” and recommended three actions for the 2026–27 school year: “a closed system for the Internet and a Google audit,” disabling collaborative features used as an unregulated chat, and “a pause on generative AI” in general curriculum while students may use AI only in supervised labs. “We request that the district freeze general AI in the general curriculum to prevent cognitive atrophy,” Johnson said during public comment.
Other parents provided similar examples and asked for transparency and governance. Poonam Bavan said she chose to live in Lake Oswego for its schools and asked the board to “Tell us which tools are being used in which grade and how long.” Kathleen Bobrel Call, a technology professional, praised district steps such as a cell-phone policy and keeping elementary devices on campus, but urged a formal governance framework and clearer evaluation criteria: “My request is simple, create more visibility and structure around how instructional and student-facing technologies are selected, used, and evaluated in our district.”
Superintendent Dr. Shealy told the board the district is conducting an audit and a two-week time study of classroom screen use K–12 and will bring app lists and data back to the board. She said the district can report what is installed on school devices and that teachers follow a multi-step approval path for apps that includes principal, CNS review, and ELT. “We did a time study,” Dr. Shealy said, explaining the audit logged activity in 15-minute intervals to produce averages.
Board members said they heard a clear call for increased transparency and options for parents; they asked administration to return with the audit results and potential next steps, including whether a parent/teacher working group would be useful. The board did not make a new policy at the meeting but scheduled additional reports and community engagement as part of the next steps.
