Lawsuit claims Lower Merion School District's tech policy is a "digital free-for-all," harmful to students

Seven Lower Merion School District families are suing the district, alleging its internet policies expose students to harmful online content.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, accuses the district of providing students with unrestricted access to the internet on school-issued computers used for schoolwork, both at school and at home.  

The lawsuit alleges students can access pornography, violent videos, gambling sites, AI chatbots, and social media during the school day, potentially hindering classroom learning and creating a "digital free-for-all."

Pencils Over Pixels, a parent-created group, formed to advocate for changes to the district's technology policies.

The families say the district recently moved to end a policy that allowed parents to opt their children out of using internet-connected school devices. The lawsuit seeks to restore that ability to choose.

The lawsuit argues that parents have a constitutional right to make decisions about their children's health, safety and education.

In a letter dated Monday on the district's website, Superintendent Frank Ranelli said the school system will use Securly Classroom, a tool that allows educators to monitor and control how students use technology during class. The tool also has an element called Securly Home that allows parents and guardians to monitor students' activity online and set time limits for how long students can use school devices at home.

The letter also includes links to the district's latest technology policies.

The district's policy states students will use technology resources strictly for academic purposes. High school students will be given individual devices to help support preparation for their futures. Students in K-8 will have supervised, teacher-directed access to technology resources, with the devices remaining in the classroom.

Students in K-2 will not have individually assigned devices. Technology use in the classroom will be minimal, teacher-directed and supervised, according to the district's policies posted online.

Students are prohibited from using their devices to access violent, harmful, illegal or inappropriate content or to bully others. Students who violate the policy will have their devices confiscated and will face consequences, according to the district's policy.

We reached out to the district for comment and have yet to hear back.