- March 3, 2025
Many Flagler County kids are now carting district-provided MacBooks to school in their book bags, and the Flagler county School District hopes they’ll be careful.
But the district has also set policies on laptop damage, hoping escalating fines will teach kids to protect the computers. Kids will also be issued the same laptop year after year, a practice school officials hope will encourage kids and their parents to take care of the devices.
“There’s a lot of trust riding on parents to do the right thing,” said School Board member Trevor Tucker. “If parents aren’t responsible, the School District pays for it.”
Escalating fines
The first time a child’s laptop is damaged, the child’s family will be required to pay a $100 “copay,” according to a draft Digital Learning Movement Handbook adopted by the Flagler County School Board at its Sept. 3 meeting.
The second time a child’s computer is damaged in the same school year, the family will pay a $150 copay, and the third time, they’ll pay for the repair or replacement of the computer, whichever is less, and the child will be barred from taking the laptop home with them. Students on free or reduced-price lunch will pay reduced fees of $20 and $30.
The district also requires students whose laptop is stolen on campus to report it to the school dean within 24 hours, and students whose laptop is stolen off campus to give the school a copy of the police report by the next business day, or pay to replace the computer.
Kids won’t be allowed to graduate until they’ve paid all of their fees.
District property
Students may be issued the same laptop year after year, according to the draft handbook, but they shouldn’t treat the device as a personal computer.
School staff can search any district-provided computer at even a suspicion of misuse, a list of more than 30 activities specified in the handbook that range from keeping food or drinks next to the computer to using it for cyber bullying or illegally downloading music.
Some of the guidelines are vague, barring students from “assisting, observing or joining any unauthorized activity” and from “accessing or attempting to access Internet sites not approved by the district/teacher,” including chat rooms and social networking sites. Others are common-sense, instructing students not to cover district computers with stickers or painted designs or use them to cheat on tests or schoolwork.
Overall, said Tucker, the district’s laptop policy relies on sound adult supervision and responsibility.
“I think it’s a good policy, as long as the parents adhere to it,” he said.
