SPOKANE, Wash. — Middle school students at Spokane Public Schools will now have to check out a laptop if they want to take it home with them after the school day.
In past years, each student was automatically issued a laptop to use at home.
This year, the SPS School Board made the decision to require students to check computers out on an as-needed basis in order to reduce the cost of lost or damaged laptops.
The Board said there must be a specific academic need for a laptop request to be approved.
“I will be curious to see down the road how much savings that does, with kids not taking them home and losing them or having them damaged,” said Melissa Bedford of the SPS School Board.
SPS said the new system should work smoothly because only 30% of students were logging into their school-issued computers from home last year.
Some SPS parents said they support the district’s decision and that it will work for families that don’t have a computer at home.
“This will be their school laptop. I have a work laptop as well. It’s very much like that, that I’m not allowed to do my personal stuff on that laptop for the most part, so I think that’s fine,” said SPS parent Matthew Wood.
Wood said he believes the bigger issue is making sure all students have access to reliable internet.
“Whether families have cheap, effective internet access in their homes, that’s not something schools can control,” said Wood.
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