Substitute teachers and parents describe Chromebooks as a classroom-management 'crutch' that hinders instruction

During audience Q&A, a substitute teacher described a third‑grade classroom where instruction stopped when the lesson plan called for Chromebooks because some students could not log in and others required help. The substitute said "as soon as the lesson plan called for Chromebooks, the learning just stopped."

A parent and former teacher at the meeting said she had been told by a veteran classroom teacher that Chromebooks were sometimes used simply to quiet or occupy students because teachers lacked alternatives. "I cannot get this class to be quiet or to behave unless I put them on a Chromebook," the presenter quoted a 30‑year teacher as saying. Speakers discussed equity concerns as well: higher‑income parents tend to restrict device access more at home, while lower‑income students more often have fewer parental controls, a potential widening of achievement gaps.