But the 鈥渢echlash鈥� took a turn last week when seven families in a Philadelphia suburb sued their school district in federal court for not allowing families to opt their children out of using the internet.

The 8,500-student Lower Merion School District adopted a Aug. 17 that limits the use of devices in elementary school and doesn鈥檛 assign laptops or iPads to students until they鈥檙e in fifth grade. 

The policy tries to strike a balance between recognizing that 鈥渇amilies have different perspectives on student access to technology,鈥� while still 鈥渕aximizing the educational value of technology resources.鈥� But in June, the board repealed a that allowed  parents to refuse internet-connected devices for their kids. 

Citing research on the addictive nature of online sites and the harmful effects of social media, the parents accuse the district, Superintendent Frank Ranelli and seven board members of creating 鈥渁n environment that is unhealthy, unsafe and invasive for students.鈥� The complaint argues that the policy denies parents鈥� rights to make decisions about their children鈥檚 鈥渦pbringing and education鈥� and puts kids at risk of accessing online pornography and violent videos. One child, according to the lawsuit, began 鈥渃ompulsively playing an online poker game on his school device.鈥�

In a statement, the district said it 鈥渄enies the allegations and will respond further through the judicial process.鈥� But officials also noted that not all of the parents have students in the district. Of the seven families bringing the lawsuit, just three have students still enrolled. The rest have children described as 鈥渆ligible to attend鈥� this fall. One family enrolled their kids in a private school, according to the complaint.

An 鈥榰nusual lawsuit鈥�

The case is the latest move by the EdTech Law Center, led by a husband and wife legal team in Texas, to force districts to significantly restrict internet use. Andrew and Julie Liddell, who are working with a representing the parents, also have several active cases against ed tech vendors, including , an online learning platform, and  , a student information system. In a statement, Andrew Liddell said he believes the case 鈥渋s the first of its kind.鈥� It鈥檚 not typical, experts say, for disputes between parents and districts over tech use to end up in court. 

鈥淭his is an unusual lawsuit,鈥� said Stacy Hawthorne, board chair for the Consortium for School Networking, a professional organization. It鈥檚 difficult, she said, to bring a constitutional challenge over a school board鈥檚 policymaking authority. 鈥淐ourts generally have not given individual families a veto over a district鈥檚 instructional or technology policies.鈥�

The lawsuit comes about a week after Education Secretary Linda McMahon said during a CNN interview that to request something different if they think an ed tech tool, especially one using artificial intelligence, is not right for their child. 

In response to parents鈥� concerns and warnings from researchers about the effects of too much screen time, several states are . Last week, New York lawmakers that would make paper-and-pencil tasks the predominant means of instruction in elementary classrooms. 

Kelly Clancy, a Brooklyn mom of three who serves on a local community education council in the New York City Public Schools, said parents are 鈥渞eally excited鈥� about the bill and that advocacy groups 鈥渁re planning a major statewide push.鈥� But she thinks most parents are more interested in seeing districts adopt strict screen time policies rather than opting out. 

鈥淧arents want to trust their kids鈥� schools to put learning first,鈥� she said. 鈥淣o one wants to reach the point of litigation.鈥� 

Ed tech organizations and the have called for limiting overuse while thoroughly vetting programs to ensure they improve learning.

鈥淣othing should replace that one-on-one teacher interaction with students,鈥� McMahon said during her CNN spot. 鈥淎re we looking at it as recreational screen time or are we looking at it as tutorial screen time? There is a right balance to be used in the classroom.鈥� 

Hawthorne, chair of the Consortium for School Networking, said she doesn鈥檛 expect similar lawsuits to become common, and that most disputes over screen time, privacy and AI 鈥渨ill continue to play out through school board deliberations, elections and state policymaking.鈥� 

But she urged districts to take parents鈥� concerns seriously and to explain how their use of technology supports learning and protects kids online.

鈥楾eacher-led education鈥�

The debate between Lower Merion district leaders and parents flared up in the spring when, according to the complaint, device use 鈥渉ad grown intolerable to many parents.鈥� 

Yair Lev, the lead plaintiff, has two children at Cynwyd Elementary in the district and helped organize Pencils Over Pixels to advocate in favor of maintaining the opt-out policy. When Ranelli, the superintendent, and local school administrators began telling parents they couldn鈥檛 opt out, the conflict escalated.

Lev, a cardiologist and professor at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, sent numerous emails to board members asking them not to 鈥渆liminate parent protections.鈥�

In a July message, he described an earlier conversation in which he said the superintendent told him that parents who object to Chromebooks and online curriculum 鈥渨ere welcome to leave the public school district and go to private school.鈥�

at previous meetings by some parents demanding to opt their children out of using devices, the district ultimately moved the final vote on the policy to Zoom and allowed no public comments. The district is also adopting a new program that allows both to monitor device use.

In a statement shared with 社区黑料, Lev said he has no plans to pull his kids out of the district.

“We are not willing to sacrifice the public schools and community we love,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e simply seek to preserve our right as parents to choose a teacher-led education for our children without mandatory technology requirements.”