this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2026
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Parents opt kids out of school laptops, ask for pen-and-paper (www.nbcnews.com)
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by throws_lemy@reddthat.com to c/technology@lemmy.world
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The middle schooler had been begging to opt out, citing headaches from the Chromebook screen and a dislike of the AI chatbot recently integrated into it.

Parents across the country are taking steps to stop their children from using school-issued Chromebooks and iPads, citing concerns about distractions and access to inappropriate content that they fear hampers their kids’ education.

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[–] grue@lemmy.world 107 points 1 day ago (17 children)

I've opted out of the school Chromebooks for my kids because they have computers running real GNU at home. We should all be outraged that schools are pushing a locked-down surveillance/content consumption-only platform, as opposed to something like a Raspberry Pi that actually empowers kids to have real computer literacy.

[–] modus@lemmy.world 25 points 1 day ago (10 children)

I'm curious to know if anyone here has ever approached the school IT department to ask what steps they take to mitigate or eliminate surveillance and tracking in these devices. I know it's inherent in Google products to begin with, but do they even try? Or pretend to try? Or admit they don't care?

[–] Kupi@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago

I’ve asked about this a few times and I was told by our administration that every company we work with signs a data privacy agreement stating that they will not sell or compromise any sensitive student data. But I was also told that our administration team doesn’t usually follow up with these companies to make sure they’re following the rules. Therefore it’s an unfortunate situation of, “above my pay grade.” Also, when opting out of a Chromebook, you’re only making sure your kid doesn’t go home with one. Most, if not all, teachers don’t shy away from Google Classroom…

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