Supporting a Balanced Approach to Technology in Burlingame Schools

A campaign from Schools Beyond Screens - Schools Beyond Screens - Burlingame

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Why This Matters

On October 13, 2026, the Burlingame School District (BSD) Board of Trustees reviewed its proposed 2026–2030 Technology Plan for the first time. The plan calls for every student, starting in TK, to have their own device. It also allows middle school students to spend up to two hours a day on screens. The plan does not give families a way to opt out, limit how their child uses a school device, or say no to taking a device home. BSD is already sending devices home, but the plan does not set up a process to review the apps on those devices until January 2027.

At the Board meeting, parents shared 50 pages of written comments and spoke up about their concerns. They asked the Board to delay its vote so parents and teachers could have more time to share their views.

Since the meeting, parents have been learning and working together to ask BSD to put a thoughtful plan in place to protect students and make sure devices are used safely.

We respectfully ask the District to change its proposed Technology Plan to:
- Put safety, privacy, and learning first.
- Give parents clear information, control, and choice.
- Pause the rollout of one device per student in TK–5th grade and keep screen time out of TK–2nd grade.

The biggest school districts in the country are already moving in this direction (Los Angeles and New York City) and parents in other districts nearby are in the process of making similar asks with over 2,000 petition signatures already (San Mateo-Foster City, Palo Alto, San Francisco).

We love our Burlingame schools and teachers. We want our children to think for themselves, spend more time with each other instead of screens, and stay safe online. We hope to work with the District to get this right. If you share these concerns, please sign and share this petition with other Burlingame families.

Read the full petition, including a link to BSD’s proposed plan, sources, and a comparison of other school districts: https://bit.ly/BSDtechPetition.

 
Dear Superintendent Silversmith, Trustees Brown, Jay, Bhuskute, Mustafa, and Stephens,
We are parents and community members. Among us are trained educators, scientists, physicians, technologists and cybersecurity experts who support intentional use of technology but believe the pendulum has swung too far. 
Our concerns span every grade. In kindergarten, parents have watched students miss recess to finish a required reading screening with Amira, an AI-powered literacy app that repeatedly said it couldn’t understand them even when they spoke clearly, leaving them frustrated and discouraged. In 5th grade and at BIS, parents report that students use their school laptops to play games, watch excessive hours of YouTube late into the night and visit non-approved sites, often by simply switching browsers. These aren’t isolated experiences; they call for a closer look and clear safeguards. Research links heavy screen use to lower achievement and finds that young children understand stories better on paper than on screens [4, 6, 17]. California now limits smartphones at school to keep classrooms distraction-free, yet school laptops are bringing those same distractions back [21].
We support our teachers and believe that when technology is used, it should be used thoughtfully, with a clear educational purpose, and with its risks taken as seriously as its benefits. We’re asking for an evidence-based review of the District’s approach and a seat at the table, with parent representatives from our elementary and middle schools on any committee revising, implementing and evaluating the plan.
We are encouraged by the landmark screen time resolution passed in June 2026 by Los Angeles Unified, the second-largest school district in the nation and subject to the same California standards [1]; the decision by New York City, the nation’s largest district, to bar individual devices before 3rd grade and pause student AI tools [3]; and San Mateo-Foster City’s recent decision to move to print-first math, stop assigning a device to every TK-2 student, and launch a task force to take an evidence-based look at technology use [2]. Parents in San Francisco and Palo Alto are asking for similar changes [24]. The appendix shows how Burlingame’s plan compares. We would love for our District to lead the way and adopt a developmentally appropriate technology plan that creates a safe and focused learning environment for our children.
We respectfully request that the District take these steps, addressing device use at school and at home.
Act now:
  1. Prioritize safety, privacy and learning. Students, especially in middle school, are still developing self-regulation, so devices need guardrails at school and at home. Centrally manage all school hardware using built-in privacy and security standards, ensuring student data protections are active by default on every device and cannot be bypassed at home or in any browser. Use an allow-list so students can only access assigned resources and block app installs (including through personal Apple IDs), along with social media, gaming, streaming, gamified apps and ads. Lock down devices from 11pm until the start of school. Give parents and teachers a simple way to report device or app problems. [5, 8, 9, 10, 26]
  2. Give parents transparency, control and choice. Turn on Mosyle@Home and Securly Home so families can see activity, set limits and pause devices at home, and send parents weekly activity reports that don’t require their child’s device or password. Store devices at school by default, which would also lighten heavy backpacks, and let families opt in to take them home; families who choose school-only use should not lose access to assignments or instruction. Until school storage is the default, publish how families can decline take-home devices. Get parent consent wherever the law requires it, explain what happens if a family doesn’t sign the technology use agreement, and as District policy, let families opt out of specific apps, other than required assessments, for an offline alternative, including for students whose attentional, behavioral, sensory, or learning needs may make screen-based instruction a poor fit. [1, 10, 19]
  3. Pause the 1:1 rollout in TK-5th and keep student screen time out of TK-2nd. Elementary students are still developing foundational attention, social, emotional, and independent learning skills and need hands-on, in-person learning above all else. No 1:1 devices in TK-5th until the plan is revised, except as required by IEPs and 504 plans; use shared carts and computer labs instead, including for 5th grade laptops already handed out. State standards and tests require typing skills and computer access, not a device for every student. In TK-2nd, no student screen time in class or for homework, except for required assessments, tools for English learners and dual immersion programs, and as required by IEPs and 504 plans. For required assessments, choose teacher-administered options where possible. Approve any other use by exception, based on evidence it supports learning, with notice to parents. [1, 2, 3, 6, 17, 23]
  4. Separate classroom infrastructure from student devices. Move forward with upgrades to classroom displays, audio, network and teacher laptops. Consider student devices separately, so classroom upgrades aren’t held up by the student device plan. Teacher-led display use should be purposeful, curriculum-aligned and time-limited, with no background video or videos replacing instruction. [1] 
Revise for the longer term:
  1. Clarify goals and ensure evidence-based use of technology. Set research-backed, measurable goals for the plan that track both learning gains, such as in reading or math, and possible harms, such as changes in attention and behavior or students guessing their way through lessons. Pilot new tools in a few classrooms first and gather regular feedback from parents and teachers. Review results with family and teacher input at a Board meeting each year, as Los Angeles Unified does, and before expanding any pilot. Use screens only when they offer value that can’t be replicated offline. Require independent review of EdTech products rather than vendor claims, build accountability into every contract, including limits on what student data vendors collect and how long they keep it, and publish every approved EdTech tool with its intended use and privacy policy. [1, 7, 10, 14]
  2. Disable use of generative AI for students so foundational skills come first. Children need to learn to think critically, reason through problems and judge information on their own before they use tools that can do the thinking for them. Early research links reliance on AI tools to weaker critical thinking, even among adults. High school students who leaned on AI for math practice did worse once it was removed. No study has yet shown generative AI is safe or effective for younger children, which is why New York City has paused it for students through 8th grade and Los Angeles Unified bars it for students under 13. Turn off student access to generative AI until tools are vetted for safety, legality, and effectiveness. AI literacy, which state law encourages, can still be taught without students using AI tools. As the state’s model AI policy recommends, get annual parent consent before using AI tools that interact with or assess students, and let parents request human review of AI decisions. [1, 3, 11, 12, 15, 16, 22, 25]
  3. Provide robust training. Require online safety lessons for students, teachers and parents before devices are handed out, including how parents can monitor devices. Train teachers on evidence-based use of screens in class and for homework, including Apple Classroom, already installed on student laptops, which lets teachers view screens and lock devices. [4, 7]
  4. Keep unstructured time device-free. Give students time for offline social, creative and independent activities during the school day. Ban screens at recess, lunch and passing periods and never use them as a reward, since free time supports social skills and learning. [1, 13]
  5. Set specific, enforceable screen time limits by grade level. Heavy screen use is linked to distraction in class, poorer sleep and myopia. Set daily and weekly maximums below the proposed plan’s guidelines, including homework. In grades 3-5, limit screen time to uses such as typing practice and state testing, with daily limits no higher than Los Angeles Unified’s (20-30 minutes). [1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 17, 18, 23]
  6. Prioritize print. Ensure approved curricula include print textbooks for every student, favor paper homework, and keep analog learning a first-class option at school. Print supports stronger reading comprehension and helps parents engage with their child’s learning at home. [6]
We love our Burlingame schools and teachers and want our children to think for themselves, spend more time together than on screens, and stay safe online. We hope to work with you to get this right.

Our full petition, with a link to sources and a comparison chart, is available here.
Sincerely,
The undersigned


Recent Supporters

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  • Parent

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