Education leadership strategies for responding to anti-tech backlash

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If school administrators didn’t have enough on their plates, the recent uptick in anti-technology sentiment from parents has added friction to purchasing decisions at a time when budgets are already under tight scrutiny. This clouds conversations around how to enhance Tier 1 instruction, AI adoption policies, and how to facilitate accessible learning experiences to help meet the learning needs of all students.

Spurred in part by books like Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, and more recent studies about unstructured AI use affecting critical thinking (Kaplunov & Ntasioti, 2025), community members are actively questioning screen time and how technology is used in classrooms–and even if it should. 

Broad brushstrokes like this often conflate consumer-facing products that parents use, with tools designed specifically for teaching and learning. The best edtech products allow for intentional use of technology that empowers educators to design the most effective instructional supports for all students by determining when and how to use these tools. The ability to turn features on or off creates customized learning experiences for individual students and classroom contexts.

Beyond binary decision-making: Intentional use of technology as a winning strategy

All or nothing technology policies can leave students unprepared for the world beyond the classroom, and may fail to provide equitable and accessible learning experiences for all students.

Haidt’s findings have recently been called into question by researchers (Severs, 2025). A recent study by Brookings finds that intentional technology use can actually improve student learning, extend learning to students and those with disabilities, help overcome resource gaps, advance assessment, and help teachers reallocate time for greater focus on students. (Burns et al., 2026) 

Another study of 17,000 educators in over 300 countries found that, if used intentionally, technology enhances student engagement and learning outcomes. (Bebell & Burt, 2025)

Strategies to address concerns

There are several strategies education leaders can employ to address parent concerns while still making informed, pedagogically sound decisions about technology.

First, acknowledge legitimate concerns about data privacy, screen time, and academic integrity. Then help parents and caregivers understand that deployment of technology in educational settings is based on an informed set of best practices. (Itoi, 2025)

Here are some ways to provide stability and vision that can weather continual shifts in the education and technology landscapes.

• Align new technology policies to institutional values
• Focus on equal access
• Make evidence-based technology purchasing decisions
• Communicate proactively with parents and community

Articulate your “why”: Lead with vision and values 

Like most conversations, it makes sense to align your technology policies to your institution’s existing educational values, and goals. Show how your ideas and strategies aren’t a new add-on, but rather an expression of your community. Decisions should be driven by foundational values that align with pedagogy, learning outcomes, and legal requirements, such as making sure students of all abilities succeed.

Connect policies to student outcomes

Parent and caregiver misperceptions about technology often come from a good place: protecting children and wanting to ensure a high-quality learning experience that prepares them for their future. Lean into those concerns by demonstrating how intentional use of technology does, in fact, support important learning outcomes.

The World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report’s fastest growing job skills of 2030 include AI and technology literacy, followed by creativity, resilience, and lifelong learning. In addition to teaching standard curriculum and digital citizenship, technology can prepare students for college and the workplace.

Frame technology as a tool that elevates learning

A big part of developing a technology plan is demonstrating how the right tools used in the right way can enhance teaching and learning. This allows for time reallocation by teachers, providing opportunities for deeper learning and ensuring high-quality Tier 1 instruction. (Harper & Milman, 2016) The intentional use of certain technology tools may even make new learning experiences possible.

When discussing AI as part of technology in schools, it helps to distinguish between generative AI like ChatGPT, which generates content based on a prompt, and agentic AI, which may be programmed to serve as a tutor to support student learning, especially when students are developing foundational skills. Unaided use of the generative AI may discourage students’ critical thinking skills, while agentic AI may support students as they take ownership of their learning.

Make evidence-based purchasing decisions

Rely on data and disclosures from vendors to help you choose reliable tools from companies with a proven track record. Your vetting process may include:

• Prioritize technology that supports proven pedagogy over trendy new tools.
• Simplifying your tech stack to prevent technology overload, reduce time spent on deployment and training, and minimize professional development for teachers.
• Only use vendors that have robust Student Data Privacy Agreements that align with FERPA, COPPA, and state-level requirements and require AI tools to undergo regular data privacy audits.
• Require disclosure of data collection, usage, and storage practices.
• Choose learning technologies that provide personalized feedback and meet district goals.

Develop a transparent, inclusive process

Community buy-in for any new technology policy requires participation from all stakeholders and accountability around your data, methodology, and decision-making process. 

While there are different ways to introduce new technologies (like phased, lighthouse, and inquiry-based adoption processes), a task force composed of different stakeholder groups ensures that needs and concerns are addressed. Best practice includes reporting the task force’s findings and progress regularly.

• Make policies publicly accessible on your district website.
• Have transparency with the community about the process, findings, and recommendations of the task-force.
• Create supplemental guidelines alongside board-approved policies that are easier to update as educational technology evolves.

Consider using these additional guiding questions when working with technology stakeholder groups:

• What is the relationship between student engagement and absenteeism? What do we mean by “engagement?”
• How do digital tools facilitate inclusion and Tier 1 instruction in every classroom?
• How are we addressing a broader definition of literacy for today’s students, such as digital citizenship and AI literacy?
• What kinds of new learning experiences do technologies make possible to enhance student agency and ownership of learning?
• What accessibility features does technology provide for all students that analog alternatives don’t?
• What tools and processes make teaching easier and how can schools do more with less?

Citations

Kaplunov, E., & Ntasioti, A. (2025, February 3). Is AI making students less critical thinkers? Advance HE. https://advance-he.ac.uk/news-and-views/ai-making-students-less-critical-thinkers

Severs, J. (2025, September 3). Is Jonathan Haidt right about smartphones? Tes Magazine. https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/general/jonathan-haidt-anxious-generation-right-about-smartphones

Burns, M., Winthrop, R., Luther, N., Venetis, E., & Karim, R. (2026, January 14). A new direction for students in an AI world: Prosper, prepare, protect [Summary]. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/A-New-Direction-for-Students-in-an-AI-World-SUMMARY.pdf

Bebell, D., & Burt, K. (2025). Engaged teaching: Engaged learning. An empirical study of teaching, learning, and student engagement across the K–12 community of Apple Distinguished Schools [White paper]. Reflective Educational Research. https://reflectiveeducationalresearch.com/engaged-teaching-engaged-learning/

World Economic Forum. (2025, January 7). The future of jobs report 2025. https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025/

Harper, B., & Milman, N. B. (2016). One-to-one technology in K–12 classrooms: A review of the literature from 2004 through 2014. Computers & Education, 100, 129–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2016.05.003

Itoi, N. G. (2025, September 29). What parents need to know about AI in the classroom. Stanford Report. https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/09/expert-guide-tips-ai-schools-classroom

Resources

Crompton, H. (2023). Evidence of the ISTE Standards for Educators leading to learning gains. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 39(4), 201–219. https://doi.org/10.1080/21532974.2023.2244089

Anderson, J. (2020, November 2). A nuanced view of screen time. Harvard Graduate School of Education, Usable Knowledge. https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/20/11/nuanced-view-screen-time

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2025, March 13). Screen time at school. https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/media-and-children/center-of-excellence-on-social-media-and-youth-mental-health/qa-portal/qa-portal-library/qa-portal-library-questions/screen-time-at-school/

Bushweller, K. (2025, September 23). Which states require schools to have AI policies? Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/technology/which-states-require-schools-to-have-ai-policies/2025/09

International Society for Technology in Education. (n.d.). ISTE standards. https://iste.org/standards

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