EdTech

In Naperville 203 we use educational technology when it strengthens instruction, expands access, supports creativity and collaboration, and gives students new ways to communicate and demonstrate their learning.

Our approach is student-centered, developmentally appropriate, and grounded in the belief that strong relationships and effective teaching remain at the heart of every classroom. Digital tools should support the curiosity, discussion, productive struggle, hands-on experiences, and human connection that help students grow.

Naperville 203 provides students and educators with digital resources that support curriculum, instruction, assessment, communication, creativity, and collaboration. These resources may include instructional applications, digital texts, research databases, learning platforms, multimedia tools, and accessibility supports.

Digital resources are most effective when they help students do something that would be difficult or less meaningful without the technology. A tool may help students collaborate with others, receive timely feedback, access learning in different formats, organize their work, investigate authentic problems, or create products for real audiences.

What Guides Our Decisions?
When selecting, reviewing, and using digital resources, the District considers:

• Instructional value: Does the resource support curriculum and meaningful student learning?
• Age appropriateness: Is the experience appropriate for students’ developmental needs?
• Accessibility: Can the resource support learners with varied strengths, needs, languages, and abilities?
• Privacy and security: Does the resource appropriately protect student and staff information?
• Ease of use: Is the tool intuitive and manageable for students, educators, and families?
• Alignment and sustainability: Does the resource complement existing District systems and provide sufficient value over time?

Protecting student information is a shared responsibility and a foundational part of Naperville 203’s technology practices.

The Student Online Personal Protection Act, commonly known as SOPPA, is an Illinois law that establishes requirements for school districts and educational technology companies that collect or maintain student information. Naperville 203 also follows applicable state and federal student privacy requirements, including FERPA, COPPA, and CIPA.

What Families Should Know
Under SOPPA and District requirements:

• Student information may only be used for legitimate educational purposes.
• Vendors receive only the information necessary to provide the approved service.
• Student data may not be sold, rented, leased, or traded.
• Student information may not be used for targeted advertising or the creation of commercial profiles.
• Vendors are required to protect student information and report data breaches.
• Student information must be deleted when it is no longer required.
• The District publishes information regarding vendor agreements, collected data elements, and parent and guardian rights.

Access to student information is limited based on an employee’s role and legitimate educational need. Parents and guardians also have the right to review their student’s information and request corrections when information is inaccurate.

Student privacy does not mean that no information is ever shared with an educational provider. Some approved services require limited information—such as a student’s name, grade level, school, or class enrollment—to operate effectively. In those situations, the District works to ensure that only the information necessary to provide the service is shared.

Artificial intelligence is already embedded in many of the tools people use to communicate, create, search for information, navigate, and make decisions. Our responsibility is not simply to provide access to AI, but to help students understand how it works, recognize its possibilities and limitations, and use it with skill, confidence, and integrity.

Naperville 203 believes AI can expand access to information, support creativity, provide feedback, and create new opportunities for teaching and learning. At the same time, AI cannot replace authentic student thinking, original work, human judgment, teacher expertise, or meaningful relationships. 

Our Approach to AI

Privacy and safety come first.
Students and staff should only use District-approved tools for school-related work and should never enter confidential, personally identifiable, or protected information into an unapproved AI platform.

AI should enhance—not replace—learning.
AI may support brainstorming, feedback, accessibility, research, practice, or creative exploration when those uses align with the learning goal. It should not complete the thinking or productive struggle students are expected to demonstrate.

Human judgment remains essential.
AI-generated information can be incomplete, inaccurate, misleading, or biased. Students and staff must evaluate outputs, verify information with reliable sources, and make the final decisions about how information is used.

Academic integrity matters.
Students are expected to submit work that accurately represents their own knowledge, skills, and thinking. AI-generated work may only be used when authorized by the educator and in a manner consistent with the expectations of the assignment. Students may also be asked to acknowledge or explain how AI supported their work.

AI literacy is an important future-ready skill.
Students should learn to understand AI’s capabilities and limitations, construct effective prompts, evaluate AI-generated information, recognize potential bias, protect private information, and consider the ethical and societal implications of AI.

Our guidance will continue to evolve as the technology, available research, legal requirements, and educational practices change. This reflects the approach of other school systems that emphasize equity, transparency, human oversight, continuous learning, and regular review of AI expectations. 

Purposeful technology use also requires students to develop healthy, safe, and responsible digital habits.

Throughout their educational experience, students learn to protect personal information, communicate respectfully, evaluate online content, understand their digital footprints, respect intellectual property, and seek help when they encounter unsafe or inappropriate content.

We also recognize the importance of balance. Schools and families share a role in helping students build sustainable routines around devices, notifications, social media, sleep, movement, and face-to-face relationships. The goal is not technology use for its own sake, but thoughtful choices that support learning and well-being.