Controversial School Tech Policy Approved After Months Of Uproar In Lower Merion

LOWER MERION, PA — After months of community uproar that bubbled into alleged threats, the Lower Merion School Board approved new policy for student technology use from behind a screen.

The policies regulate student use of school-issued tech, such as laptops and iPads. These efforts came with heavy backlash from parents, who pushed for the right to opt their students out of having those devices at home.

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Monday's meeting was conducted on Zoom due to social media threats against board members and district administrators, along with disruptions at recent meetings that caused three recesses, according to the District.

"Over the past several months, Lower Merion School Board members and our district superintendent have been subject to threats," said Board President Dr. Kerry Sautner. "Our meetings have been disrupted over and over, and we have witnessed harassment during our public meetings. And our school team has had their homes and families also harassed. This is unacceptable."

Only board members and district personnel appeared on screen. Community members could type out comments for District Solicitor Ken Roos to read aloud. But those messages weren't accessible in the publicly viewable Zoom chat, and no members of the public could not be seen or heard.

Roos read more than 40 comments. The heavy majority opposed the tech policy and called for the board to consider tighter restrictions.

A parent of a Merion Elementary schooler said someone asked her daughter about her favorite parts of school. The child said, any time she could spend on her iPad.

"I was horrified," said the parent's comment, as read aloud by Roos. "We love Merion Elementary and do believe we have great teachers, but I am sure the kids can be taught what they need in elementary school without tech."

New Tech Regulations

In June, the Board voted to forbid parents from letting their children opt out of using school-issued technology. Monday's approved policy added grade-level restrictions.

Students in Grades K-2 cannot be issued individual devices, while tech use for third- and fourth-graders must stay in the classroom.

Homework on school-provided devices can be assigned to fifth- and sixth-graders, but parents can oppose it. This is the first grade level in which students will be given individual devices for schoolwork.

Tech use has fewer restrictions in the upper grade levels. See below:

Parents will have more tools to monitor their children's internet usage, including a way to recommend sites to be filtered, Sautner says.

"Having been on the Policy committee for the last 5-and-a-half years, this is the most extensive work that we've done in coordination with the community, and I'm grateful for that, Sautner said.

The policy passed with a 7-2 Board vote, with Board Members Sarah Thomas and Abby Rubin opposing.

Rubin read a statement from Pencils Over Pixels, a local group of parents who have petitioned for the District to give them the choice to opt their children out of using individually assigned computers and iPads.

She also questioned the decision to make the meeting virtual, which she said came from Board leadership.

"I have not seen these threats, nor was my input sought about shifting to a virtual meeting," Rubin said. "Safety is our No. 1 priority, but determining what threatens that safety is a decision that should be arrived at after thoughtful deliberation from the full Board."