As technology continues to play an important role in education and college and career readiness, IUSD is taking additional steps to help students develop healthy, balanced, and intentional technology habits both at school and at home.
IUSD’s Longstanding Commitment to Balanced Technology
IUSD has a longstanding commitment to using educational technology tools thoughtfully and responsibly. The District’s approach is centered on a model in which technology supports learning, with people at the heart of teaching and learning. When technology is used, it is used purposefully at key points in the learning process under the direction of teachers to support high-quality instruction, provide immediate feedback, and create opportunities for differentiated learning tailored to individual student needs.
About The Balanced Technology Initiative
Through its Balanced Technology Initiative (BTI), IUSD is strengthening the guardrails for students participating in the District’s Chromebook 1:1 program while continuing to support high-quality teaching and learning.
Earlier this spring, IUSD implemented updated technology settings for PK–8 students, including a daily Chromebook “bedtime” that disables internet access from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., including weekends, to help support healthy sleep habits and reduce late-night distractions. While most elementary students do not take Chromebooks home, the settings apply to all PK–8 devices. The District also strengthened content filtering to further limit access to highly distracting categories such as gaming, entertainment, comedy, and YouTube Shorts, while continuing to allow access to educational and instructional resources.
We recognize that high school students have different academic and developmental considerations, so the District’s Information Technology team conducted additional focus groups with parents, students, and principals to help inform the approach. Following these conversations, the District recently expanded some similar YouTube filtering protections for high school students to reduce time spent on YouTube. As we continue to meet with students, school and parent groups, we will continue to expand the BTI and keep our families informed.
Positive Impacts
Since launching the BTI two months ago, we have seen the positive impacts among PK-8 students:
- More than 26,000 students supported through enhanced digital guardrails and filtering protections
- Elimination of late-night Chromebook internet usage during the 10 p.m.–6 a.m. “device bedtime” period
- 85% reduction in overall YouTube usage
- Reduced access to highly distracting content categories such as gaming, entertainment, comedy, and YouTube Shorts during instructional and home-use hours
- Increased student engagement with instructional and academic platforms, including Canvas, Google Classroom, ST Math, Clever, and Google Workspace tools
- YouTube dropped from the #3 most-used platform to #10
- Weekly YouTube activity decreased from approximately 1.7 million hits to approximately 241,000 hits afterward. A significant portion of the YouTube hits are for educational purposes
Parent and Family Feedback Matters
The BTI reflects feedback gathered from teachers, families, students, principals, Annual Survey responses, and other community engagement efforts regarding student focus, digital wellness, and the challenges that unstructured screen time can create both at school and at home.
The BTI is another layer to our ongoing digital wellness and digital citizenship efforts. IUSD has long prioritized student digital safety and responsible technology use. Students receive instruction on digital citizenship and review the District’s Acceptable Use Agreement before taking a Chromebook home. The District also utilizes robust filtering systems that comply with the federal Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) while still allowing access to meaningful educational resources.
We recognize the importance of preparing students to thrive in an increasingly digital world while also helping them build healthy habits, balance, and strong interpersonal connections. Our goal is to ensure technology is used intentionally and purposefully in ways that enhance learning and student well-being.
What Families Can Do at Home
IUSD encourages families to partner with schools in helping students develop healthy digital habits by discussing expectations for technology use at home, establishing family screen-time boundaries, and encouraging overnight device storage outside of bedrooms.
Families can also utilize the Blocksi Parent Dashboard for Families, which allows parents to view browsing activity, apply additional filtering restrictions at home, and even pause internet access outside of school hours.
Additional resources and information for families are available on the District’s Technology in Education webpage.