ACLU questions Poway school's iPad program
A Poway elementary school’s drive to equip fourth and fifth graders with iPads — mostly at their expense — is being called into question by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The state Constitution guarantees a free public education, and the ACLU says in a letter to the district that the effort at Tierra Bonita Elementary School runs afoul of that requirement.
Tierra Bonita and its educational foundation have been working to start a technology program that would supply every fourth and fifth grader with either an iPad or another tablet.
According to the ACLU, students are being given the option of using their existing device, buying one from the district for $379 (plus $79 warranty and $25 case), renting one for $53 a month or borrowing one from the district.
The district warned parents that the program cannot move forward if more than 10 percent of families borrow a device.
The ACLU quotes the principal as telling parents on May 2, “We are just 15 commitments away from being the first school in Poway to equip all