Iola High School could soon take a different approach to student technology use, with administrators proposing a shift away from assigning individual laptops and instead providing classrooms with Chromebook carts on an as-needed basis.
The proposal, discussed during Monday’s USD 257 Board of Education meeting, is tied closely to the district’s planned changes to student cell phone policies and is an effort to reduce distractions while maintaining access to technology.
IHS Principal Scott Carson said conversations throughout the spring led administrators and the building leadership team to consider whether students always need access to district-issued devices. Under the proposal, teachers would have access to carts of Chromebooks that could be used when needed, rather than having devices assigned to students.
“It’s more of a purposeful access instead of constant access,” Carson said.
ADMINISTRATORS have found that laptops can be just as distracting as cell phones. While the district is preparing to implement stricter cell phone expectations passed down by new state legislation, Carson noted that Chromebooks often provide many of the same opportunities for off-task behavior.
The cart system would also address common issues teachers encounter when students arrive with dead batteries, damaged devices or forgotten Chromebooks.
“Having the carts would eliminate that because they’d always be in the classroom,” Carson said. He added that students who need a laptop for homework could check one out from the office at the end of the day and return it later, but noted that homework is not often assigned.
Carson said staff members have been supportive of the idea.
He would like to start with enough Chromebook carts to ensure teachers do not have to worry about availability. If, after a year, some carts are found to be unnecessary, they could potentially be reassigned to the middle school.
Superintendent Stacey Fager noted that the district is considering launching the proposal at the high school only. The board could discuss the proposal in greater detail at a future meeting before making any decisions, Fager said.
He noted that the discussion reflects evolving views on educational technology.
“Years ago, schools focused heavily on putting technology into students’ hands, but educators are increasingly questioning whether constant access to devices creates more distractions than benefits,” Fager said. “If we move forward with the high school using carts, we’ll evaluate whether it’s a workable solution.”
The middle school intends to continue operating with its current one-to-one Chromebook program for the coming year. “We’re going to continue as we are right now,” Brad Crusinbery, IMS principal, said. “And we’re going to kind of watch to see how it goes at the high school.”
IN OTHER NEWS, the board approved handbooks for each of the school buildings for the 2026-27 school year. Fager said administrators worked collaboratively and made cell phone ban expectations a major area of consistency between schools. He added that the district is also exploring storage options for phones.
The new policies are expected to evolve as administrators compare notes with neighboring schools. “A lot of it’s going to be played by ear,” Fager said, noting that administrators will monitor what is working elsewhere and adjust as needed.
Board members also received an update on employee health insurance and the Greenbush Trust’s efforts to move toward a self-funded insurance model.
