The Fairfax County School Board takes up Superintendent Michelle Reid's recommendation on Pre-K and kindergarten device use Thursday, Oct. 8, three months after banning classroom laptops for the youngest students.

The board meets at 7 p.m. at Luther Jackson Middle School, according to the FCPS weekly newsletter. The agenda also includes the annual Opening of Schools Report and motions related to instructional digital applications.

Pre-K device ban heads back to the board

The device item directly affects McLean and Langley pyramid families with Pre-K and kindergarten students. On July 16, the board unanimously directed Reid to prohibit FCPS-issued laptops and tablets for Pre-K and kindergarten students starting in the 2026-2027 school year. Exceptions remain for students who need devices under Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), 504 plans, translation services, or multilingual education support.

That ban ran into a complication almost immediately. At an Aug. 18 work session, Reid told the board she planned to allow use of the literacy program Lexia during a kindergarten reading block of up to 1.5 hours per week to meet Virginia Literacy Act requirements, as FFXnow reported. Chief Academic Officer Sloan Presidio said the exception affects more than 30% of FCPS students. Replacing Lexia with teacher-led instruction would require at least 20 additional full-time positions the budget does not cover, Presidio said.

Board member Kyle McDaniel pushed back. "Now we're in the position where we are being told that we are going to roll back a board action … taking away iPads from kindergartners," McDaniel said at the work session.

The exact wording of Reid's recommendation for the Oct. 8 meeting has not been made public. It could formalize the July ban, carve out the Lexia exception, or both.

Opening of Schools Report

The annual report arrives amid tension over staffing. WTOP first reported Friday, Oct. 2, that some credentialed teachers hired over the summer were being paid as long-term substitutes rather than full-time employees. Reid described the practice as tied to declining enrollment projections.

Board member Melanie Meren called it a "crisis."

Meren, who represents the Hunter Mill District, wrote in a newsletter to families that continuing the strategy six weeks into the school year was unacceptable, according to WTOP. As of Friday, Oct. 2, Meren was planning to introduce a proposal directing Reid to convert those teachers to permanent hires. That item does not appear on the published agenda.

When the board voted to ban Pre-K devices in July, Meren said screen time was harming students. "Test scores are down. Writing is lacking for incoming college students. Mental health suffers," she said at the July 16 meeting.

No preview enrollment or staffing numbers from the Opening of Schools Report have been released.

Upcoming deadlines

Board Chair Robyn Lady represents the Dranesville District, which includes McLean and Great Falls. The board has a Nov. 12 deadline for Reid to deliver a plan for storing FCPS-issued devices in classrooms when not in active instructional use. A separate Jan. 14, 2027, deadline requires a full inventory of generative AI tools on student devices. We reported Oct. 7 on the district's new Chrome extension to block AI on student laptops.

The next Superintendent's Community Conversation open to families is Monday, Oct. 19, at 6:30 p.m. at Spring Hill Elementary School.