Technology Survey from Department of Public Instruction Underway

(ND Monitor) – A new North Dakota Department of Public Instruction survey seeks statewide feedback on potential changes to how students are using technology.

Superintendent Levi Bachmeier said he hopes the survey results will inform policymakers on potential reforms to school-issued device policies across the state. During his first student Cabinet meeting, he said a Mandan freshman told him the devices needed to be a “tool, not a toy.”

North Dakota banned the use of cellphones during the school day during the 2025 legislative session, something Bachmeier said has received a near universal positive response during its first year in effect.

The cellphone ban triggered a migration of some students from using their cellphones to access YouTube and other social media sites to using their school-issued laptops or tablets, Bachmeier said.

The survey includes questions about restrictions on device usage in elementary school, a potential prohibition on taking devices home, built-in make-up days into school scheduling before using virtual instruction and whether the state should require districts to use monitoring software on the devices. It can be filled out by any North Dakota student, parent, educator or community member through
Aug. 1.

ND Monitor