We are a group of Albany City School caregivers and educators that are concerned with the widespread adoption of educational technology in our public schools. Instead we are advocating for a data-driven, intentional, age-appropriate approach to technology in the classroom.

Our current goals include the following:

District-Wide Screen Reduction: Transition away from 1:1 Chromebook dependency, restricting EdTech primarily to students who require specific learning accommodations. Block student access to YouTube, as well as all gaming, video-streaming and social media on student devices.

Institutional Shift: Establish a district-wide "tech-intentional" culture, moving away from a reliance on Google Classroom and returning to physical textbooks or workbooks at the Middle School and High School levels.

AI Moratorium: Pause the implementation of student facing generative AI in district curriculum until its safety, effectiveness, and educational necessity can be fully proven.

Caregiver Consent & Monitoring Infrastructure: Mandate explicit parental consent before any new EdTech program is introduced. Demand systems that allow parents/caregivers to actively monitor in-school tech use (e.g., real-time login notifications or weekly activity summaries).

Stronger Privacy Policies: Achieve ironclad district protections for student Personally Identifiable Information (PII), and advocate for New York State legislation regulating classroom screen time and EdTech data-harvesting practices.

With the help of the community, we will continue to refine our goals and work toward a return to Albany classrooms that teach technology education without overreliance on educational technology.

Email us at schoolsbeyondscreens.acsd.gmail.com