Parents and clinicians urge Oak Park D97 to curb routine iPad use and fix special-education breakdowns

At a May 12 Oak Park Elementary School District 97 board meeting, multiple parents and a clinician asked the board to reconsider routine classroom iPad use and to address what they described as systemic failures in special education.

Stephanie (parent and educator) told the board she is "deeply concerned about the role screens are playing in our children's education," citing recent professional practice that favors handwritten notes for retention and urging the district to disclose the research and monitoring it uses to justify heavy iPad use. "What research and data are being used to justify maintaining such a large role for iPads in elementary education?" she asked.

Diana Curtis Harour, who identified herself as a parent and clinician specializing in trauma and ADHD, described prolonged struggles to obtain legally required special-education supports for her children. She said she has filed two ISB complaints and an Office for Civil Rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, and accused the district of operating through "gatekeeping, bureaucratic exhaustion, poor communication, and barriers that force families to fight relentlessly for even the most basic educational access." "Stop managing legal liability and start protecting our children," she told the board.

Parent Megan Jackson recounted a safety incident involving her son at Irving Elementary that she said was not documented and resulted in her child leaving the school within weeks. Jackson also urged the board to preserve device access for students who need iPads as accommodations, arguing that requiring a diagnosed label to keep a device forces vulnerable students to be visible in ways that can be stigmatizing. She acknowledged a recent district response called "Screen Sense," noting staff acted quickly on that plan, but asked the board to extend the same urgency to nonverbal and neurodivergent children who rely on devices.

Board members did not engage in an extended back-and-forth during the public-comment period; staff later noted that the district had produced a technology plan and materials for review and will present related budget items and policy updates at upcoming meetings. Several speakers asked for classroom-walkthrough data and for clarity on how funds for technology professional development are being used.

Why it matters: Parents and clinicians framed these concerns as matters of instructional quality, equity and legal compliance. They requested data review, classroom monitoring, and clearer policies to ensure devices are used as instructional tools and as accommodations when required.

Next steps: The board is scheduled to consider related policy and budget items on June 9, including an item described in the meeting as a technology-plan budget addition and the consolidated district plan required for federal Title funding. The transcript indicates parents expect memos and walkthrough data to be circulated ahead of that meeting.