Leonia High School’s “New” Personal Laptop policy

The students of Leonia High School received shocking news during the week after midterms: Personal laptops would be banned on January 29th, 2024. The ban (already mentioned in the student handbook since the beginning of the year) was was put into effect because of cyber security issues within the school. If a student brings in a personal chromebook rather than a school issued one, there will be disciplinary consequences. Students at LHS unfamiliar with the handbook seem to be shocked by the news. I interviewed 2 students to discuss their opinions on this topic. 

When interviewing junior Kelly Lim she spoke about why she brought her laptop to school in the first place. She stated ”I feel more comfortable having a personal laptop to do work on so that I can easily multitask and use a device that I have better knowledge on.”

Adam Arriola, another junior at Leonia High School, was asked about the downsides of school issued chromebooks and why he prefers his personal computer. He responded, “Lots of links are blocked on the school chromebook, sometimes there are issues where the tech guy takes a long time to fix the problems, and the wifi is unstable and slow.” 

Students at Leonia High School weren’t informed about this new rule by email, instead they were informed by teachers. 

To many students, this ban came as a shock, but to others, they recognized it as simply enforcement of a rule already set forth in the student handbook.

Edited by: Katerina Romanides