District ends device opt-out before suit
Seven parents in a Philadelphia suburb have filed a federal lawsuit against their school district, arguing it is violating their rights by requiring their children to use the internet at school, according to the Associated Press.
The lawsuit stems from a district-wide technology policy adopted Aug. 17 by the Lower Merion School District that prohibits parents from opting their children out of internet-connected devices. The new policy limits device use in elementary schools and does not assign laptops or iPads to students until the fifth grade. The school board had repealed a separate longstanding opt-out policy in June.
The complaint argues that the policy denies parents the right to make decisions about their children’s “upbringing and education” and characterizes the device requirement as creating an environment that is “unhealthy, unsafe and invasive for students.” Parents said in the lawsuit that the policy exposes students to online pornography and other harmful content. The complaint cites one case in which a child began “compulsively playing an online poker game on his school device,” according to the Associated Press.
In a statement, the district “denies the allegations and will respond further through the judicial process.”