Decatur High School has announced it will finally end the Bring Your Own Learning Device (BYLD) program and institute a 1:1 Chromebook Learning Device program instead. This comes following a long delay since the announcement of the plan on September 7. The BYLD program will end on November 19 and students will no longer be able to connect their personal devices to the school network.

Instead, DHS will distribute an HP Chromebook 11A G8 EE to every student in the building. Freshmen will receive them first, on November 9, and then sophomores, juniors, and seniors will receive them on the 10, 11, and 12, respectively. 

DHS admin states that this is in an effort to “foster a technology-rich community that supports student success while providing skills needed for the 21st Century.”

Students can also be held accountable for the cost of repairing or replacing a device that was deliberately damaged. If damaged, the cost to replace would be $250 for the Chromebook, $30 for the case, and $30 for the power cord. There are no replacements for the devices either. If the device is damaged or disabled, the student will lose device privileges and be required to complete restitution or a restitution activity. 

To ensure safe use, parents and students will have to fill out an acknowledgment form and sign off that they understand what they can and can not do with the Chromebook.

The device is meant for educational purposes only. Everything done on the Chromebook is retrievable and goes on the CSD server. Therefore, only CSD accounts are allowed and only for school purposes.

This serves as just another step in the evolution of a 1:1 device program plan that has taken shape over the last decade in CSD.