Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
The Lower Merion<\/a> school board voted Monday to repeal its existing technology policies<\/a>, over outcry from parents who accused the board of stripping their right to opt their children out of district-issued laptops and iPads.<\/p>\n During a contentious meeting \u2014 the board summoned security after interruptions from the crowd in the Lower Merion High School auditorium \u2014 parents demanded answers on why the district was denying families the ability to reject devices they said were threatening their kids\u2019 education, and even their lives.<\/p>\n \u201cA parent\u2019s right to opt out of one-to-one educational technology to do what is best for their children\u201d is \u201clife and death for their development and learning,\u201d said parent Meredith Brisco-Bacik, a cardiologist who likened the district\u2019s use of educational technology to giving kids a risky medical procedure without their parents\u2019 consent.<\/p>\n By repealing the existing policies, which contain language requiring administrators to accommodate students whose families don\u2019t sign electronic device use agreements, \u201cyou stand ready to remove the proverbial defibrillators from the room,\u201d Brisco-Bacik said.<\/p>\n Parents in Lower Merion have been battling the district since the spring<\/a> over concerns about excessive screen time in school, saying the district is relying too heavily on educational technology programs and failing to stop kids<\/a> from accessing distracting or inappropriate content.<\/p>\n District officials have responded to the criticism by advancing a new technology policy<\/a> that would end the assignment of personal devices to K-2 students and set guidelines for technology use by grade level.<\/p>\n