New Jersey school district looking to crack down on Chromebook use

DEPTFORD, New Jersey (WPVI) -- The use of student Chromebooks was the topic of discussion outside the Deptford Township High School on Tuesday night.

School leaders with the Deptford Township Board of Education say those laptops are becoming a distraction and they are considering making them inoperable overnight.

"I think it's a good idea, so that way you know you can monitor your child," said Reggie Aquino, the parent of a 7th grader.

"I think they're punishing all for a few bad choices some kids are making. I don't know if you can really put a ban on it too much. It's a really weird situation," said Lee White of Deptford.

Starting March 1, school Chromebooks will be inoperable for elementary students from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. for middle schoolers and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. for all high school-aged students.

The board says they hope to discourage screen time and promote successful time management.

In a letter sent out to parents, it reads in part:

"Recently, our technology team has seen an increase in student Chromebook use during later evening hours, in some cases going well past midnight. As part of our responsibility for student wellbeing, we want to ensure we are not enabling unhealthy behaviors by allowing access to school-owned devices during hours where children and teens should be resting and recovering."

Not everyone thinks the policy is a good idea.

"My son and I were talking about it earlier, he was saying, if you are in after-school programs and you get home very, very late, it will be kind of hard to do your homework," said White.

Action News spoke to another parent who says rather than making Chromebooks inoperable, she suggests making specific programs and applications inaccessible.

"I know a lot of kids, they want to play games on the Chromebooks, they want to watch YouTube. I think that it would be better for them to just ban using YouTube or Roblox or whatever they're playing. If they have the capability to shut off laptops remotely, they certainly have the capability to shut off the access to YouTube, the games, or whatever," says Hannah Mann of Deptford.

School district administration met Tuesday afternoon to evaluate the current feedback. The board says they are still gathering information and willing to make adjustments before the policy takes effect on March 1.