This will be the last school year when Oakland students can pull out their laptops or Chromebooks to play games during recess or watch YouTube during lunchtime. All that will change next fall, thanks to a new policy the Oakland Unified School District board approved Wednesday.<\/p>\n
This is the second time the proposed student device policy<\/a> has come before the full school board. During the initial discussion last month, some school board directors raised concerns that students\u2019 perspectives had not been adequately considered. Rachel Latta, the District 1 director who introduced the resolution, said on Wednesday she\u2019d met in the interim with the district\u2019s All City Council Student Union. After explaining the proposal to the student representatives and discussing the impacts of increased device use, they were supportive of it, Latta said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Beyond restricting laptops during recreational time, the district will also be prohibited from adopting instructional programs that use game-like reward systems or rely excessively on screen use. The policy directs the superintendent and her staff to consult researchers to develop age-appropriate guidelines for using laptops and artificial intelligence tools in class. The board has asked the staff to present those proposed guidelines by June 2027, and to offer training to principals in advance of rolling out the new rules, which will be implemented for the 2027-2028 school year.\u00a0<\/p>\n The school board approved the policy with six yes votes, with Director Mike Hutchinson absent for the vote. Several online comments ahead of the meeting expressed support for the measure, which some parents and teachers said they view as a companion policy to the district\u2019s cellphone ban enacted this year<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs a long-time OUSD parent, I ask the board to adopt this resolution,\u201d wrote Nicholas Ditmore. \u201cMy children already spend time on screens outside of school, and the school day should not unnecessarily pile on more. I especially support ending recreational Chromebook use at lunch, recess, and classroom free time \u2014 those moments should be for play, conversation and rest. This resolution doesn\u2019t remove technology from learning, it ensures devices are used purposefully and safely.\u201d<\/p>\n Gina Lozito, a literacy coach, wrote that embracing technology was necessary during the pandemic but that it\u2019s time for OUSD to take a step back.<\/p>\n \u201cI have seen firsthand the dangers of unstructured device use in the classroom,\u201d Lozito wrote. \u201cOur students deserve a learning environment that is free of distractions and AI tools and that allows them to receive quality (human) instruction that is evidence based\/best practice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018A call to remain disciplined\u2019<\/p>\n The board also discussed the Alameda County superintendent\u2019s latest memo about the OUSD budget \u2014 a critical part of the county\u2019s oversight responsibility.<\/p>\n Superintendent Alysse Castro noted that while the school board and district leadership have made progress in bolstering the district budget, OUSD must follow through on commitments to make reductions this year and over the next two years to remain solvent.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a letter<\/a> to district leadership evaluating the 2026-2027 budget the board approved in June<\/a>, the county superintendent wrote that OUSD has made changes to its budgeting habits that have resulted in a stronger financial position, such as the shift to spending restricted resources first before depleting unrestricted funds.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe should receive this as good news and as a call to remain disciplined,\u201d OUSD Superintendent Denise Saddler said at the meeting. \u201cWe cannot allow the progress we\u2019ve made become a reason to lose momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n But Castro said she still had concerns, including about the board\u2019s plan to make an additional $30 million in cuts for this school year, the district\u2019s declining cash balances, the impact of new labor agreements, and the district\u2019s dropping enrollment. OUSD, she said, will have to make reductions of $30 million for the 2027-2028 school year and $11 million for 2028-2029.<\/p>\n \u201cThe district still faces a structural deficit and must make difficult decisions about the size and sustainability of its ongoing commitments,\u201d Castro wrote.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The county superintendent gave conditional approval to OUSD\u2019s 2026-2027 budget, which means the board must take a few more actions before the county will fully accept it. Castro directed the board to respond to her letter at a public meeting by Oct. 8. By early December, she wrote, she expects the board to inform the public of progress on budget cuts for the current year and by February, she expects the board to adopt a timeline for implementing cuts for the subsequent two school years.\u00a0<\/p>\n