Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Parents continued to press the Lower Merion<\/a> school board Monday to let them reject district-issued tablets or laptops, as policy changes advance that would repeal any accommodation for families to opt out of electronic devices.<\/p>\n Board leaders said they would revise a new technology policy that was unveiled last week<\/a> to replace the current version \u2014 which says schools must work with families who don\u2019t give permission for their kids to be issued devices \u2014 and present it again in June.<\/p>\n \u201cI speak for many of us, that we are all directionally aligned with the majority of things that are being shared by the community,\u201d Anna Shurak, the co-chair of the policy committee, told the crowd in the Lower Merion High School auditorium Monday.<\/p>\n But members of an increasingly organized parental movement implored the board not to move forward with repealing the current policy, arguing that it shouldn\u2019t strip parents\u2019 ability to opt out before it satisfies concerns about excessive screen time and technology misuse<\/a> in schools.<\/p>\n \u201cThese devices are marketed as engaging, and we\u2019re reassured that the educational aspect makes it safe, but the evidence overwhelmingly says otherwise,\u201d said Theresa Elko, the parent of a kindergartner at Penn Wynne Elementary, who compared school-issued devices to an \u201caddictive drug.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy role as a parent feels seriously challenged when the school insists she needs an iPad to learn,\u201d Elko said.<\/p>\n The district\u2019s superintendent, Frank Ranelli, has said administrators are reviewing the need to assign one-to-one devices to elementary students<\/a>, among other possible changes for next year. He has also said the district is considering setting screen time limits<\/a>.<\/p>\n But he and board members have repeatedly said it\u2019s not possible for families to opt out of devices<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ben Prusky, a parent of second and first graders in the district and a pre-kindergartener, told board members Monday that parents could \u201cwork through the logistics\u201d of opting out.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we need to get textbooks, there\u2019s no money for them \u2014 we can work with you,\u201d Prusky said.<\/p>\n Meredith Brisco-Bacik, a parent of a second grader and two rising first-graders, asked the board to not repeal the opt-out language \u201cuntil we have a policy in place that everyone in the room can really get behind.\u201d<\/p>\n Differing visions<\/p>\n Parents in favor of opting out expressed different possibilities Monday for what technology access students should have: from elementary students having access to computers on carts, but not being issued personal devices; to going to a computer lab once a week to learn to type, to no technology before grade three.<\/p>\n Seth Ruderman, a parent who said he favors more restrictions on screens, but opposes calls for opting out, said there appeared to be contradictions in parents\u2019 visions.<\/p>\n \u201cNo opt-out solution is going to make the people in this room happy, so we are left with addressing all students,\u201d Ruderman said. He called for improvements to district-wide policy, rather than creating \u201ctwo classes of students.\u201d<\/p>\n Parents in the Pencils Over Pixels<\/a> group that supports opting out have acknowledged some disparate views, and say they\u2019re seeking to reconcile them.<\/p>\n While parents say a petition seeking the right to opt-out has more than 800 signatures, they\u2019ve also started a new petition focused on \u201cvalues and beliefs\u201d around technology in schools, including that \u201ctechnology is a tool \u2014 not a teacher\u201d and that \u201cgamified apps have no place in education.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOpt-out is a means to an end. It\u2019s not the end goal itself,\u201d said Subashini Subramanian, a parent of a second grader, and author of the new petition. \u201cAs a coalition, we need to start thinking a little more big\u201d about what the district\u2019s technology practices should look like, Subramanian said.<\/p>\n The group also wants to find common cause with parents who may not favor opting out, but have concerns about screens in school<\/a>, Subramanian said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about getting organized, and keeping the momentum up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n