Can students use their personal laptop instead of a district issued device?
Purpose: Explain the District Office guidance on students bringing their own laptop device (BYOD) to school.
Some students and families prefer using their own laptop instead of the district issued laptop. There are no technical barriers from a student bringing their own laptop and connecting to the PSD_WIFI network using their district username and password. However, the decisions to allow students to bring their own device and use it in a particular classroom is determined at the building level. This may differ student-to-student based on each student’s instructional situation.
If a personal device is brought to school, the student and their family assume all liability for damage, loss, or theft. The Information Systems Department does not offer technical support on personal laptops.
Here are other considerations when weighing whether to allow students to bring their own device to school:
- The student will not be able to access district installed software. Most software that the district uses is web based and can freely be accessed on personal device, so this may not be an issue for general classroom use.
- Teachers will be unable to manage/monitor the student’s device via Classwize. This will limit the teachers’ ability to redirect students if the student’s personal device is distracting.
- The student will not be able to take the State assessments, such as the SBA Interim and Summative Assessment or WIDA, on their personal device since a Secure Browser is required. Arrangements will need to be made for the student to temporarily checkout a district laptop to take the assessment.