Santa Barbara Unified students blast YouTube ban and other district tech restrictions in new student-led survey – Santa Barbara News-Press

Santa Barbara Unified students blast YouTube ban and other district tech restrictions in new student-led survey  Santa Barbara News-Press

A student activist has clashed with Santa Barbara Unified School District administration over surveys he conducted. He calls message from Superintendent Hilda Maldonado 'scary' A student activist was called into a private meeting with district administrators after conducting a survey across all high schools about the YouTube ban and other tech restrictions on district-issued iPads. Mateo Gallegos, who serves as student board representative of San Marcos High School’s Associated Student Body, told the News-Press that on Friday, he was called out from second period to meet with district Superintendent Hilda Maldonado and Board President Bill Banning. He said the superintendent told him she was set to email ASB directors to “clarify the role of student board representative” as a position unaffiliated with the district.

Gallegos said Maldonado’s message was “scary in the moment.” Worried, he said he believed that meant he and his colleagues who conducted the survey would lose their positions in ASB. What played out on Tuesday night’s board meeting was the latest flashpoint over an ongoing debate over the district’s responsibility in regulating the iPads issued to students. Santa Barbara Unified’s new restrictions on student technology were a hard-fought win for many parents. But for many students — and some teachers — they’ve been one frustration after another. In June, Santa Barbara Unified banned YouTube and other