For teachers, allowing parents to opt their students out of school-issued technology, like iPads and laptops, means hours spent creating a separate curriculum. It means creating possible disparities in what children learn, educators say, and giving less attention to students and more attention to administrative tasks.

Still, allowing parents to opt their children out of using technology in school could soon become a reality.

On Monday, Nov. 9, the Kansas State Board of Education is set to consider a policy on instructional technology — the result of months of work considering how to help Kansas school districts create their own local tech policies. 

The state policy would require districts to address items such as the purpose and intended use of technology in both elementary and secondary education settings, artificial intelligence, privacy, security, digital citizenship, and more. 

Part of the state’s policy up for a vote would dictate whether parents simply acknowledge a district’s instructional technology policy or must consent to it. 

Acknowledging a district’s use of technology is what occurs now. Parents check the form among a raft of others at the beginning of each school year. But allowing for active consent — asking parents whether they want their child opted in or out of the use of school-based devices — would be a bigger change.

Educators in Johnson County and district leaders are wary, saying allowing parents to opt their children out of school technology would create logistical challenges as teachers prepare lessons for some students who use technology and others who don’t.

Five Johnson County public school districts — Olathe, Shawnee Mission, Blue Valley, De Soto USD 232 and Gardner Edgerton — penned a joint letter on Oct. 16 expressing concerns about this particular aspect of the proposal up for a vote Monday at the state board. 

“In today’s instructional environment, a guaranteed and viable curriculum cannot be fully implemented without intentional, purposeful use of instructional technology,” the letter states. “Many resources and learning experiences that support district curricula are available only through digital platforms.”

The districts advocated for retaining the current system that gets parental acknowledgment of districts’ technology policies, instead of requiring their consent. 

“Families that elect to opt their child out of technology … would create two parallel systems of instruction within the same classroom, with real consequences for students and schools,” the letter states.

However, some parents said they feel the state should move forward with requiring parental consent — the districts aren’t doing enough on their own.

From teachers

Teachers the Post interviewed worry about their own workload if families can more readily opt out of school-issued devices, saying they would need to build a separate curriculum for students who don’t use devices as well as potentially devote extra time for grading and other administrative tasks. 

Beyond their own logistical concerns, these teachers say they worry more about what this means for their students.

John Holloway, a science teacher at Blue Valley North High School, said technology offers a unique learning experience to his students that you can’t get analog.

“Trying to visualize the way that molecules and this tiny world work is really difficult,” Holloway said. “We rely on simulations a lot where students go and they’ll see a simulation on a computer. They can move the molecules around, they can see how they interact with each other.

“There’s not really a substitute activity for that,” he continued. “I can give them physical models, but they’re not going to do the kind of things that we can do with the simulations.”

Another particular concern, Lakewood Middle School Librarian Korene Ekstrand in Blue Valley said, is how to teach digital literacy, which is required by the state.

“I have to teach digital literacy, that’s part of my standard, and digital citizenship,” Ekstrand said. “So, I just can’t teach my standards? Is the state going to go back and change that?”

For teachers, utilizing technology is about finding balance in the classroom — having online quizzes that can provide immediate feedback is ideal, Holloway said, adding that research shows the quicker the feedback, the better it stays in students’ minds. Grading assignments by hand takes time.

Holloway did admit that research shows that students retain information better when reading and writing on paper. Maybe then, he said, the solution is to invest in professional development days that help teachers find that balance between digital and analog learning.

From a parent

While Shawnee Mission Parent and member of Schools Beyond Screens Kim Whitman agrees that there should be a balance between digital and analog education, she said she feels the state stepping in is necessary, particularly for Shawnee Mission.

“Until the district can demonstrate that the use of devices and digital products are supported by independent research, an opt-out option is not only appropriate, but necessary,” Whitman said in an email last Thursday. “Parents have repeatedly voiced concerns, including those listed in the Schools Beyond Screens Letter of Support, yet despite assurances that their feedback is being heard, the district has made little to no effort to implement the changes families have requested.”

One recent change, implemented by Shawnee Mission at the start of this school year, is that elementary school students no longer take their school-issued iPads home unless for a specific assignment. Additionally, the iPads cannot be used during indoor recess or reward time.

On its website, the district’s Instructional Technology page says Shawnee Mission follows a “balanced approach to the use of technology.”

“The district focus is to use technology in the classroom to collect data that drives instruction, provide collaborative learning spaces online, empower students to create their own products and to support communication between the classroom and home,” the district webpage states.

Still, this isn’t enough, Whitman said. She says she doesn’t want to do away with school-issued technology completely but pare its usage down.

“Parents are not seeking to opt out of the curriculum or educational opportunities,” Whitman said. “Rather, they are asking for alternatives to tools and technologies that lack clear, independent evidence demonstrating educational benefit. For years, many school districts have embraced educational technology with the assumption that more technology automatically leads to better outcomes. It is time to critically evaluate those assumptions and scale back the use of products that have not been proven to enhance student learning.”

What’s next?

As the state considers the policy, President of the Blue Valley Education Association Carrie Myers said it’s important to trust educators.

“We have to trust our teachers,” Myers said. “I have complete faith in our staff. We have the best of the best … they need to be trusted that they’re going to choose the appropriate tools and activities that teach their curriculum, the learning activities and objectives, and they’re doing it in a way that’s meaningful to the kids.

“I feel like this (opting in or out) tries to supersede that,” she added. “It’s just disheartening.”

The five Johnson County school districts advocating for retaining a system that acknowledges district technology, in their joint letter, reminded the state board that local control is vital when it comes to addressing the needs of students.

“Statewide guidance,” the districts’ Oct. 16 letter states, “should provide appropriate guardrails while preserving flexibility for local school districts to determine how those expectations are best implemented based on the needs of our students and schools.”

More information about Monday’s meeting, including where to watch, can be found here.