{"id":727,"date":"2026-06-09T16:44:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T16:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=727"},"modified":"2026-06-09T16:44:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T16:44:04","slug":"lower-merion-is-advancing-a-policy-to-eliminate-ipads-and-laptops-for-k-2-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=727","title":{"rendered":"Lower Merion is advancing a policy to eliminate iPads and laptops for K-2 students"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Lower Merion school board is proposing to stop assigning personal laptops and iPads to kindergartners, first graders, and second graders after facing intense pushback from parents who say kids are getting too much screen time in school.<\/p>\n

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Members of the school board\u2019s policy committee announced the plan during a meeting Monday, along with other proposed limits on technology use. Under policy changes going before the full school board for review next week, third and fourth graders would use electronic devices stored on carts in classrooms, while fifth and sixth graders would be permitted, but not required to bring devices home.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is a huge movement forward,\u201d said the board\u2019s president, Kerry Sautner, describing revisions made to the proposed technology policy in response to community feedback.<\/p>\n

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But parents who have accused the district of overusing educational technology said the proposed changes didn\u2019t go far enough \u2014 leaving too much room for interpretation around when technology should be used, and failing to adequately restrict kids\u2019 access to inappropriate websites.<\/p>\n

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Some parents also expressed anger that the board is moving forward with repealing the current technology policy, which contains language accommodating families who opt out of district-issued devices.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou are removing the escape hatch,\u201d said David Smyth, a parent from Merion Station, who said the district had produced no data supporting its use of technology. \u201cYou know that ed tech is failing, it\u2019s suboptimal, and you don\u2019t want to be embarrassed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s what to know about the tech debate in Lower Merion, the board\u2019s latest policy proposal, and what happens next:<\/p>\n

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Lower Merion at the epicenter of ed tech backlash<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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As backlash to technology in schools has spread across the region and nationally, Lower Merion has become an epicenter of parental opposition.<\/p>\n

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At meetings this spring, dozens of parents have voiced concerns about weakened attention spans and classroom distractions, and expressed fear that the quality of their kids\u2019 education is declining as a result. <\/p>\n

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More than 800 parents have signed a petition asking for the right to opt out of one-to-one devices, according to parent organizers in Pencils Over Pixels. The group, which started a GoFundMe, has distributed lawn signs and enlisted a public relations firm as part of its advocacy efforts.<\/p>\n

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But district officials have repeatedly said that language is dated, stemming from when Lower Merion first introduced one-to-one devices, and that it\u2019s not possible for families to opt out.<\/p>\n

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Instead, the board has been reworking the district\u2019s technology policy to address when and how devices should be used in classrooms.<\/p>\n

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A revised policy after meetings with parents<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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The latest outlines guidelines for technology use at different grade levels, rolling back one-to-one devices for Lower Merion\u2019s youngest students.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTechnology shall not be used for routine classroom instruction in these grades,\u201d the policy says. \u201cAny use shall be minimal, highly structured, and limited to specific educational purposes such as diagnostic testing or for teacher-directed, whole-class demonstration, visual display, or state testing preparation.\u201d (Pennsylvania\u2019s standardized tests, which start in grade 3, are required to be administered on computers.)<\/p>\n

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In grades 3-4, the policy says students \u201cshall have supervised, teacher-directed access to technology resources\u201d that stay in classrooms, while in grades 5-6, students will be permitted to bring their devices home, but not allowed to use them between classes or at lunch.<\/p>\n

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The policy describes students in grades 7-8 and 9-12 as having increased responsibility for independent technology use, but says devices should only be used for school-related work.<\/p>\n

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The policy changes are \u201cmeaningful responses\u201d to community feedback, said Anna Shurak, the chair of the board\u2019s policy committee, who said board members had met with concerned families.<\/p>\n

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But some parents said the policy \u2014 which says teachers should use technology \u201conly when doing so serves a clear educational purpose\u201d \u2014 wouldn\u2019t adequately limit an overreliance on screens in classrooms.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe verbiage of this policy is very carefully crafted to say nothing,\u201d said Eleanor Stanford, a parent and writing professor at Bryn Mawr College, who also questioned why the district was still \u201cdragging its feet\u201d on imposing a bell-to-bell ban on cell phones in its high schools, even as legislation advances in Harrisburg to do so. (Shurak said the district would fully ban cell phones in 2027-28.)<\/p>\n

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Parent Matthew Posey quoted the policy\u2019s language that technology belongs in the classroom when it \u201cgenuinely amplifies human curiosity.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cDid Albert Einstein need Kahoot or iReady?\u201d Posey said, referring to two educational technology programs. \u201cIs this a public policy document, or a corporate marketing brochure?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Some parents also questioned proposed administrative regulations that include suggested time ranges for technology use by grade level. In grades K-4, the guidelines is less than 30 minutes a day; by high school, it increases to less than 120 minutes a day.<\/p>\n

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Calculating the high school upper limit as about 40% of daily instructional time, \u201cto me, that\u2019s way, way too high,\u201d said Sam Handlin, a parent and professor at Swarthmore College. He said the only way teachers would approach that time limit was either by using technology \u201cas a babysitting device,\u201d or letting students take notes on computers, \u201cwhich is just a recipe for distraction.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Shurak didn\u2019t comment on the timeframes specifically but told Handlin the administrative regulations still need to be revised.<\/p>\n

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When will changes take effect?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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The committee endorsed sending the revised technology policy to the full board for review next week, along with a recommendation to repeal the current technology policy.<\/p>\n

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While the board may repeal the current policy at next week\u2019s meeting, the new policy would still need to be considered a second time to before it could go into effect.<\/p>\n

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The goal is to have the new policy in place in August, Shurak said. She said the board would be directing administrators to implement changes in time for the coming school year.<\/p>\n

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Board member Jason Herman, a member on the policy committee, said some of the new policy\u2019s language should be revised to limit \u201cambiguity and subjectiveness.\u201d He also questioned why the district couldn\u2019t move to a content filtering model where only certain websites were permitted for students to access, rather than restricting sites after problems are reported.<\/p>\n

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Officials didn\u2019t address questions around content filtering Monday, or calls from the Pencils Over Pixels group for the release of district contracts with educational technology companies and a technology advisory board that would include parents. <\/p>\n

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Sautner said the board had more work to do, including around technology questions related to the district\u2019s curriculum.<\/p>\n

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But \u201cwe cannot micromanage\u201d administrators through policy language, she said.<\/p>\n

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Some expressed concern that the board could overreact in response to anti-tech opposition.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBanning technology isn\u2019t going to be the way to ensure that our kids critically think,\u201d said Emma Benn, who urged the board to \u201ctake a step back\u201d before passing a new policy. \u201cThis world is a technology-driven world, and we need to make sure our children can function within it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Parents who have accused the district of overusing screens say the proposed changes don’t go far enough. 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