Parents and educators in Nevada want more oversight of the digital tools used in public school classrooms. A growing parent coalition is asking lawmakers to limit screen time and protect recess. They also want strict rules for taxpayer-funded software contracts. Similar concerns are growing nationwide as school districts buy expensive educational technology (EdTech) without proof that it helps students learn.
What Happened
The Washoe Parents Coalition is pushing to reform how schools purchase and use classroom software, according to a report by Carson Now. The group previously organized campaigns to protect recess and physical play and to reduce excessive screen time. Now, they are focusing on the high costs and unproven performance of classroom software.
Parents also point to loopholes in software research and artificial intelligence management. For example, Nevada recently released ethical guidelines for AI in education, but state officials initially did not disclose that AI helped write those guidelines. This makes parents wonder who is actually monitoring classroom technology.
The Bigger Picture
School districts are spending more on technology than ever before. The global K-12 EdTech market was $78.2 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $253.9 billion by 2033, according to a market analysis by CivicIQ. Instead of buying physical textbooks once, districts now pay for ongoing software subscriptions. This creates "renewal vulnerability," leaving schools dependent on continuous license payments, according to a Nationgraph analysis of K-12 procurement.
Pricing varies wildly across the country. Per-student licensing costs for the same types of software range from $0.06 to $1,716, averaging $287.72 per student.
These high costs do not guarantee better academic results. Because of flat test scores, some districts now use "outcomes-based contracting," where vendor payments depend on student progress. However, a report by Midday Advisors found that even when these agreements boosted software usage to 69%, students met only 56% of the targeted learning goals.
This means nearly half of these contracts failed to meet basic educational targets. As we previously reported on classroom tech, schools must prioritize teachers over digital tools.
While districts spend heavily on digital systems, human-led tutoring programs are losing funding. Federal cuts are forcing AmeriCorps to end its tutoring programs in Madison, Wisconsin. This has left the district searching for affordable tutoring alternatives. Other districts are considering expensive online options, such as Paper Education for math tutoring, despite concerns about cost and student attention.
What This Means for Families
When schools buy unvetted software, students lose instructional time and face increased screen fatigue. Parents often do not know how their children’s learning data is shared or whether AI tools actually help them learn. Subscription licenses also lock up school budgets, leaving less money for human tutors or physical materials that are proven to work.
What You Can Do
- Ask your local school board for third-party, independent research showing that their current software programs actually improve student reading or math scores.
- Find out if your school district uses outcomes-based contracting so taxpayer money is refunded if a tool fails to deliver results.
- Encourage your school to maintain a strict balance between digital learning and physical play to ensure screens do not replace recess or hands-on activities.