The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has sent a letter to the Mendon Upton School District regarding the 1:1 iPad initiative.
According to MURSD Superintendent Dr. Maruszczak the original complaint filed with the ACLU was made by one parent in the district regarding MGL Ch. 71 ss 48 which covers text books and school supplies. The parent also expressed concerns the 1:1 iPad initiative was creating two classes of students, the have and have nots.
Based on the complaint the ACLU concluded the district is violating MGL Ch. 71 ss 48 and is inconsistent with the Commonwealths duty to provide free and equal access to education. Dr. Maruszczak said, “What is being portrayed in the letter is not accurate.” Dr. Maruszczak also noted the ACLU did not contact him or the district regarding the complaint prior to making their conclusions.
The ACLU is a civil rights organization which has no legal authority over the district.
Dr. Maruszczak said the district’s iPad program was thoroughly legally vetted and disagrees with the ACLU’s conclusion. He also said the district will respond to the ACLU regarding their concerns.
The district offers several iPad options. One option offers in school use only with no fees – approximately 10-15 percent of the districts students have chosen this option. The district also offers several payment plans for students to have access to iPads 365 days a years – 24 hours a day which includes free or reduced fees for students who require financial assistance. “We very much work with families. It’s not like the district has invested zero…there is district investment,” said Dr. Maruszczak.
The parent who filed the complaint expressed concerns that students who have access to 365/24/7 iPads are at an advantage because those who are using the in school use only program cannot bring the iPads home.
“The access to material is equal,” said Dr. Maruszczak. Students who opt for the in school use only program are not at a disadvantage, according to Dr. Maruszczak all out of school assignments are available on several formats including text books, the web, and handouts. Any project which involves at home work does not require the use of the iPad.
Dr. Maruszczak said the parent who filed the complaint with the ACLU initially brought the same complaint to the department of education last year and the department has not taken action.
The district plans to move forward and continue the 1:1 iPad initiative despite the ACLU’s conclusion.
Dr. Maruszczak said the program has had an “overwhelmingly positive” response based on a recent survey. “Are there parents who don’t like the program, yes,” said Dr. Maruszczak.
The district has an open door policy when it comes to concerns about access or what the kids are doing with the iPads. “We work with families,” said Dr. Maruszczak.
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The obvious answer here is allow kids who don’t want to or can’t buy them to take them home, but require a refundable deposit to do so. If they lose it or keep it, they must pay for it, like with text books – or at least the way it used to be with textbooks. This keeps the program alive and everyone benefits. Sure we’ll lose some iPads in the process, but it will give everyone access. This could be need-based like the lunch program is.
Here are all the options. I should have included this in the post.
http://nipmuc1to1learning.weebly.com/ipad-options.html
So options 4 & 5 give kids the opportunity use an iPad at no cost. Others can buy it and benefit from educational pricing if they want to. It’s not clear what the problem is except that the original complainant has some sort of ax to grind.
So if I’m reduced lunch I can take it home. If I feel as though I cant afford it, I am not allowed to take it home.
I disagree that there is very little this district does right. I think the district overall is very good. Am I a fan of the ipad initiative? No because i have a junior so I think it’s more of a pain in the neck. But that being said, all students have access to one to use in school. If the assignments to be done at home can still be accomplished using text books, handouts, and the web, then I don’t see how someone is disadvantaged. These would be all things that you can use at home (and if you don’t have the web at home then you can’t access the internet from the ipad anyway). As for ipads offering social connections, that’s not their intended purpose for the educational use of them. So forcing the district to spend precious, shrinking resources on legal fees, to me is more harmful than the ipad initiative is.
I agree there is much the district does right. We have excellent teachers and a great school community. However, this is one case where the administration was wrong. They clearly felt they could circumvent the law here. The districts attorney should be helping the district to follow both the letter and the spirit of laws concerning the free public education of our children…not helping them to work around them. Charging a fee is against the law, not providing equal access is against the law and creating a second class student is morally wrong. As for costing the district money in legal fees, they could have followed the law and there would be no debate and no fees.
The fee is not mandatory, I believe you can use the iPad in school for free. It is a choice if someone wants to buy their own. They are not forced. The learned material is the same and there are multiple ways to access the material. Still not a fan of it I but don’t see it the way you do.
I can tell you from personal experience, there is VERY little this district does right. They break laws knowingly and expect no one to find out. When it’s brought to their attention, they will do nothing. Sure, they have an “Open Door Policy”. They listen to you, Give you lip service that it will be corected, and they do nothing.. legal action is the ONLY way. I applaud any one who has the courage to speak up against them. Perhaps them change will come for all our children .
Your opinion. My family is having a different experience – a positive one. No entity will please everyone, especially when kids are involved. What’s been so extremely bad for you?
While I appreciate Joe’s position on this I can tell you the DESE disagrees with him. It should be noted that the DESE never took any action because I never filed a formal complaint. I attempted to work this issue out privately with the district with no press, public agencies, attorneys or fanfare and they refused despite the clear case law and the clear violation of equal access. This should be resolved shortly. The ACLU researched this for months before contacting the district, had access to all school documents, program fee structure and amount of access details, email exchanges and the case law. There was no need to speak to the district. Had the district allowed equal access, pitched this as a voluntary fundraiser and returned and fees collected from the roll out we would not be having this debate. If it was legally vetted the district had better hire a new attorney.
You are disingenuous when you say you tried to work this out privately. As with all the other things that you do not like, you seek the most public way of expressing your opinion. And then you berate anyone who does not agree with you, calling them sheep, puppets, robots, etc. .
Not enough room here to list all the things you are sure are wrong with MUSD, but here’s a start: standardized testing, iPads, (name your own) policy, the superintendent, singing teachers being asked to be a little quieter because they are disrupting other classes,,the new town administrator, anything anyone does that you don’t agree with that must be a conspiracy of some sort, etc……
How about focusing on the real important conspiracies: Why were those low flying planes really around? Are those fall hay bales really some sort of compressed crop circles? Who is secretly running the town? Is the new Upton town hall going to be some sort of beacon for aliens?
This parent may find a stronger level of support by filing a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). OCR has the responsibility to ensure equal access to education. iPads used outside of school hours both offer social connections that aren’t available without the tool and also the ability to continue research or learning at home to improve ones understanding of the material as well as ultimately improving their grade.