Plan to outfit students with laptops a gimmick

It is good to see the Wisconsin legislature willing to spend more money on public education. Especially after years of funding cuts to our K-12 schools. But if taxpayers are going to spend money on education, it should be for things that make sense for the students, and the districts which teach them. It is not clear that is the case with a proposal by Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly. They say they want to provide every high school freshman in Wisconsin a new laptop computer or tablet. If this proposal were to pass, Wisconsin would become the first state to outfit all high-schoolers with a laptop. It wouldn’t be cheap. It could cost taxpayers nearly $15 million. But there seem more questions than answers. Lawmakers and education officials admit they have no idea how the plan would be funded, how this technology would be used, and whether buying kids laptops even help them learn, or improve test scores. Plus, it may be unnecessary. More than 40% of Wisconsin’s school districts, including La Crosse, already provide students with laptops. And a one-sized-fits-all plan probably wouldn’t work, as some schools prefer iPads, and others prefer Google Chromebooks. Today’s rapid technology updates could render the devices outdated as soon as they get into a student’s hands. It is good to see our lawmakers willing to help fund public education, but it would be better if they were committed to doing it in a way that makes sense.