Students at James Madison High School, Oakton High School and Thoreau Middle School heading back to class Monday, Aug. 24, will find new rules governing what they can and cannot use in the classroom, along with a new tool giving parents more control at home.

FCPS has activated the Lightspeed Parent Portal, which lets families monitor weekly internet activity on school-issued devices and customize web access outside school hours. Separately, a School Board policy approved July 16 now bans all personal electronic devices during the instructional day, extending Virginia's cellphone ban to personal laptops, tablets and smartwatches.

What the parent portal does

The Lightspeed Parent Portal offers two main features: Schedules, which automatically pause or restrict internet access at set times, and Web Rules, which let parents block specific websites. The controls apply only when the device is off the FCPS network, meaning they govern after-school and weekend use without overriding district filtering during class.

To set up the portal, parents click the "Log in or Register" button at the bottom of their weekly Lightspeed Online Student Activity Report email. According to the district's back-to-school newsletter, all families should already be receiving those emails. A separate parent guide with setup instructions is available on the FCPS website, and families with questions can submit a support ticket at go.fcps.edu/ParentTechnologySupportRequest.

The district encouraged families to discuss internet boundaries with their children before school starts so students understand the reasoning behind any limits.

Personal devices banned during school

Under the July 16 board action, students may only use FCPS-issued devices for school-related work during the instructional day. Personal laptops, tablets, smartwatches, smartphones and similar devices are prohibited.

The change is significant. Exceptions exist for students whose Individualized Education Program or Section 504 Plan requires a personal device, and principals may approve limited, course-specific exceptions when curriculum requires technology not available on a standard FCPS Chromebook.

School Board Chair Robyn Lady explained the rationale at the July 16 meeting, as FFXnow reported July 23: as FCPS tightened controls on school-issued Chromebooks, more students began bringing personal devices to circumvent restrictions. "There's no firewalls. There's no way to control it," Lady said at the meeting, according to FFXnow's account.

The restrictions followed months of debate sparked by FCPS's partnership with OpenAI on a ChatGPT pilot program and advocacy from parent groups including FCPS Parents for Intentional Tech.

Other tech changes this year

The July 16 meeting also produced a ban on FCPS-issued devices for pre-K and kindergarten students, a prohibition on generative AI use by elementary students, new authorization requirements for secondary students using AI tools, and a directive for Superintendent Michelle Reid to develop a device storage plan by Nov. 12. Reid must also deliver a comprehensive inventory of generative AI tools on FCPS devices by Jan. 14, 2027.

Students who ride the bus will also encounter something new the first week: FCPS is rolling out student ID cards that riders tap when boarding and exiting. The district warned that bus drivers may need extra time at stops during the first few days.