A K–8 personal device policy from the School Committee

The SPS School Committee created a personal device policy for grades K–8, now written into the School Committee Handbook. While a bell-to-bell, away-for-the-day policy is the gold standard, this was a good place to start while Massachusetts sets the tone with a statewide policy for all schools.

Overnight internet limits on school Chromebooks

Internet access on school-issued Chromebooks is now limited from 11pm to 5am. Taking late-night browsing off the table supports healthier sleep habits and better rest for students.

Open student access to YouTube removed

Students no longer have open access to YouTube on school devices, reducing a major source of off-task viewing and unfiltered content.

Default access button to “Gemini” AI removed

The one-click Gemini artificial intelligence button is no longer available by default. Though access to AI remains available despite Blocksi filtering software (see our “Harms Experienced” page for recent evidence of this), an Allow List for all grades will be helpful in keeping students thinking for themselves, and not offloading their learning to AI.

Families can now monitor Chromebook activity

Families can now access their student’s Chromebook activity through the Blocksi filtering application, giving parents and guardians better visibility into how school devices are used. Get in touch with us if you’d like to learn more about how to break down those search results!

An “Allow List” approach for the internet, starting with grade 6

Beginning with the 2026–27 school year, grade 6 moves to an Allow List: students can reach only websites that have been approved, rather than the whole internet minus a blocklist. Kindergarten through 7th grade will follow this year.

Still in progress: We are actively working to make sure 8th graders are not left behind and advocating for an 8th grade Allow List so that all SPS learners have access to a safer, equitable digital learning environment. We are recommending the ability to allow appropriate internet access when instruction calls for it, such as giving teachers the ability to toggle the internet on and off through Blocksi, vs. providing an open internet browser that evidence shows fragments attention and has led to access to harmful content (see our Harms page for examples).