Student TechBytes

Managing screen time often feels like an impossible battle because parents are forced to compete against entire engineering teams designed to keep kids hooked. California's new legislation shifts that burden, holding tech companies legally accountable for the physical and mental health impacts of their apps on children under 16.

• Banning Addictive Mechanics: Tech platforms can no longer offer kids under 16 features designed for endless scrolling, such as personalized algorithmic feeds and autoplay video.

• Strict Age Verification & Massive Fines: Companies must verify user ages before serving engagement-driven features, facing fines up to $50,000 per affected minor for intentional violations.

• Holding Platforms Accountable: The laws recognize that willpower isn't enough; responsibility is moving from household management directly onto the tech companies building these products.

• Timeline & Scope: While part of a growing global movement, this specific law takes effect on January 1, 2027, and applies to California users.

Actionable Steps You Can Take Tonight

• Identify the Triggers: Focus on what keeps pulling your child back in (such as Snap streaks, infinite feeds, or push notifications) rather than just counting total screen time hours.

• Manually Adjust App Settings: Open your child's favorite app with them and turn off autoplay or switch algorithmic feeds to chronological order—most platforms already offer these toggles.

• Talk Openly About Design: Have a practical conversation with your kids about how apps are intentionally engineered to make them hard to put down.

We are excited to share that you can now access the For Families report with your student’s results on their i-Ready Inform™* for Reading and/or for Mathematics assessment through their i-Ready student dashboard. The i-Ready Inform Reading assessment is given to students in grades 3-12, the Mathematics assessment is given to students in grades K-12.

How can I access my student’s results?

1. Log in to your student’s i-Ready account. Use the district or school’s portal credentials and then click the i-Ready icon. Students in Pasadena Unified School District access i-Ready via Clever.

2. Select the Subject (Reading for grades 3-12, and Math) tab.

3. Click on the For Families dropdown and select the For Families report.

4. Select a language for the report.

5. Enter your district’s report code NPXTLF.

Thank you again for your continued partnership and support of your student’s learning. Please contact your student’s teacher with any questions.

• New Limits (Starting Oct 1): Elementary students get 5GB; Middle and High School students get 10GB. (Temporary 20GB limit ends Sept 30).

• Check Your Usage: Look at the bottom-left corner of your Google Drive; a red warning bar indicates you are over the limit.

• Save Personal Files: Use Google Takeout to download or transfer personal files to a flash drive or personal account before deleting them. Start early, as downloads can take time, and ITS cannot unlock accounts after September 30th.

• Clear Drive Storage: Click Storage in Google Drive to sort files by size, delete unneeded large files/videos, and empty your Trash to permanently free up space.

• Clean Up Google Photos: Turn off "Sync" in the Google Photos mobile app first to protect local photos, then select and delete unwanted photos at photos.google.com and empty the Trash.

All students who are over the limit or within 1GB of the limit received an email on Friday, September 4th or Tuesday, September 8th. For more details and instructions, click on the link below.

In order to access PUSD apps, your student will need to use Clever from the Google Chrome browser.

1. Log in to Chrome. If you don't have the Chrome browser downloaded, you can access it HERE.
2. Sign in the to Chrome browser using your student's login credentials (username and password). If you have a younger student and don't know your student's username and password, please reach out to your student's classroom teacher or the front office.
3. When prompted to turn on sync, select "I'm in"
4. The PUSD bookmarks will appear in the bookmarks bar. Select PUSD Apps to access Clever

To view your student's i-Ready Reading or Math assessment results, follow these quick steps:

1. Log in: Go to Clever and click the i-Ready icon using your student's login.

2. Select a subject: Choose either Reading (grades 3–12) or Math (grades K–12) at the top.

3. Open the report: Click the For Families dropdown menu and select For Families report.

4. Enter the code: Pick your language, type in the district report code NPXTLF, and view the results.

Why might you want to powerwash a Chromebook?

• Fixing software issues: Clears out glitches, persistent crashes, or login loops that normal updates cannot fix.
• Starting fresh: Clears out clutter like old downloads and cached data to give the laptop a clean slate.
• Resolves issues, such as the device not connecting to WiFi.

Welcome to the 2026-27 school year! Please note that ITS is experience a high ticket and high call volume. If you are having issues, we ask that you submit a ticket. Someone will respond as soon as possible.

• If you are having account access issues, please submit a ticket and provide a valid callback number.