Board approves third‑party parent survey on Chromebook usage; university will administer Qualtrics survey

The District 5 School Board voted to approve a third‑party parent survey on Chromebook usage proposed by researchers from the University of South Carolina Arnold Healthy Kids Initiative. Dr. Richard Armstrong explained the team would use Qualtrics, distribute a district‑approved QR/link, and monitor representativeness and duplicate submissions while protecting family privacy.

Dr. Armstrong told trustees the service would "come at no cost" to the district and described safeguards such as browser cookies, IP metadata checks and sensitivity analyses to flag suspicious or duplicate responses. Board members asked about individualized links, VPNs, and how to ensure a representative sample across schools; Dr. Armstrong said individualized links are possible but increase burden and that the team can flag problematic patterns and present caveats alongside the results. After discussion the board approved the survey distribution and invited the research team to work with district staff on final question wording and distribution plans.