Starting in August 2027, Carroll ISD students in grades 5-8 will no longer be allowed to use personal electronic devices during the school day.
The Carroll ISD board of directors approved the update to the academic planning guide at its Sept. 14 meeting as an expansion of its previous initiatives to reduce screen time in the district.
Students will also no longer be allowed to have privacy screens on technological devices, which will be effective immediately.
Privacy screens make it difficult to see computer screens from side angles, which makes it hard for teachers to see what students are doing on devices.
The context
CISD was previously a bring-your-own-device school district and allowed students in grades 5-12 to use personal devices like laptops for educational purposes during the school day.
In the 2027-28 school year, grades 5-8 will only be allowed to use devices provided by the district when technology is required.
The changes are in order to reduce unnecessary screen time and distractions while still ensuring students have necessary access to online textbooks and resources in a format that is easier for teachers to monitor, according to the district.
In similar news
Another update to the technology policy will allow students to use devices to access necessary content during Dragon Den, which is a time for fifth through eighth grade students to study and work on assignments, according to the district.
Digital textbooks and required content that are only available online will be exempt from technology restrictions.
Parents can opt in to allow their students to use devices for school work during this time, and opt-in forms are already being sent out, said Gina Peddy, CISD's executive director of curriculum and instruction.
Under current technology guidelines, students in Dragon Den are unable to work on assignments that require digital material and have to complete them as homework instead.
“And that is not what that was intended to do,” Peddy said.
Quote of note
“Overall, these are really just implementation clarifiers,” Peddy said. “Our goal has not changed. We want to reduce unnecessary technology use while still making sure students have access to technology when it is really needed for learning.”
Looking ahead
Next year the school district plans to move away from online vocabulary and grammar programs and switch to paper, Peddy said during the meeting.
