Memphis-Shelby County Schools leaders are proposing a mid-year purchase of 25,000 laptops for high school students, a $22 million plan that comes after parents complained about a sudden technology policy change that left teachers and families scrambling this fall. The district says the new devices should reach high schools by February 2027, just ahead of standardized testing season.
Parent Backlash Pushed a Mid-Year Fix
The proposal, reported by Chalkbeat, is meant to cover access for the district's 24,000 high school students. It follows MSCS's decision to end its yearslong policy of assigning every student a personal laptop or tablet for online work and testing, a shift district leaders said was partly intended to use digital resources more intentionally. The district has also cited nationwide efforts to dial back classroom technology as context for the change, per the same report.
The policy switch hit hardest at White Station High School, where the laptop change hindered testing and lesson plans in September, and raised concerns among families about students who could not bring their own devices from home. White Station parents separately raised concerns about having enough laptops for online testing and virtual schoolwork, according to The Daily Memphian. White Station also said it was shifting classroom instruction to be less “heavily based on technology” after it could no longer assign each student a device.
Aging Inventory and a Checkout Model
District officials say many of the pandemic-era laptops now in circulation are aging out or broken, a problem compounding the access gap. MSCS has said 175,000 of its devices are already aged out or expected to age out within two years, per Chalkbeat's reporting. Under the district's new approach, eligible high school students enrolled in college courses or asynchronous classes can temporarily check out laptops from school carts rather than being assigned a personal device.
MSCS reported having nearly 260,000 devices in its inventory, the district's November figure according to the same Chalkbeat report. That number conflicts with an earlier account from FOX13 Memphis, which reported in September that the district said it had more than 300,000 devices in its inventory. Neither report reconciles the difference, and it is unclear whether the figures reflect different dates or inventory definitions.
What the $22 Million Would Buy
The proposed purchase includes 1,500 new laptops for high school teachers in addition to the 25,000 student devices, and the plan comes with an Apple warranty covering two accidental breaks per device each year. Apple support staff are expected to help with the rollout, and the district plans to appoint or hire a staff member at each high school to manage laptop inventory and check for missing or broken devices.
FOX13 Memphis reported that MSCS pointed to rising demand for computer chips and other technology components, data center expansion, tariffs, and the overall cost of maintaining a large device inventory as factors in its review of the one-to-one policy. That outlet also reported the district was evaluating its one-to-one device policy and moving toward a more focused approach based on instructional needs. The MSCS school board is expected to vote on the $22 million purchase at a business meeting next week, per Chalkbeat.
Board Members Weigh In
Board member Michelle McKissack praised MSCS leadership for responding to parent feedback, saying she was glad district leaders were working on solutions to what she called a serious start-of-school-year problem. She also said school leaders were frustrated during testing, according to Chalkbeat's reporting. District official Roderick Richmond said leaders are standardizing IT procedures as part of the broader response.
Tennessee has enacted a state law requiring clear technology policies for elementary schools, part of the backdrop against which MSCS has been reviewing its device policies. Chalkbeat also reported that the district met with White Station faculty to address laptop issues, and that the new technology policy amounts to a take-home checkout system rather than a one-to-one assignment model for every student.
