CLARKESVILLE, Ga. — The Habersham County Board of Education approved the purchase of 500 new Chromebooks Monday, with district officials saying the devices will replace aging equipment while expanding the district’s inventory in response to changes in state law governing personal electronic devices in schools.
The board approved the $241,555 purchase without objection.
Assistant Superintendent David Leenman told Now Georgia the purchase averages $483.11 per device, including $452.63 for each Chromebook and $30.48 for the Google Workspace management license needed to administer the devices.
Leenman said some of the new Chromebooks will replace district-owned devices that have reached the end of their useful life, while others will expand the district’s inventory as Habersham County Schools adjusts to Georgia’s new distraction-free education requirements.
“The Chromebook is $452.63,” Leenman said. “The Chromebook license, this is necessary to manage them in Google Workspace for Education, is $30.48.”
The purchase will be funded through ESPLOST VII. Leenman said the ESPLOST ballot included technology upgrades as an eligible use of the funds.
The district typically replaces its Chromebooks every seven to nine years, Leenman said, with 10 years considered the absolute end of a device’s useful life.
The purchase was prompted in part by Georgia’s Distraction-Free Education Act, which restricts students’ access to personal electronic devices during the school day.
Under House Bill 340, which took effect for kindergarten through eighth grade this school year, public schools must prohibit students in those grades from accessing personal electronic devices during the school day, subject to specified exceptions. The law defines personal electronic devices broadly as portable devices capable of transmitting, receiving or accessing communications, data or media.
The law, however, specifically distinguishes personal devices from school equipment. It states that nothing in the law prohibits a school system from providing “school equipment,” including laptops and tablets, for educational purposes.
A 2026 law, House Bill 1009, expands the restrictions to students in grades nine through 12 beginning no later than July 1, 2027. That law retains the provision allowing school systems to provide laptops and tablets for educational purposes.
Leenman said the new Chromebooks will be distributed to seven schools across the district.
He said the district’s response is not simply about purchasing new computers. The Chromebooks will allow students to continue using district-approved instructional technology while personal devices are restricted during the school day.
The purchase comes after some questions were raised publicly about the per-device cost following the district’s announcement of the planned purchase. Leenman’s breakdown shows the $483.11 average includes both the Chromebook hardware and the management license.
The board’s approval was one of four business items approved without objection Monday. The board also approved personnel recommendations, the June 2026 financial report and the final reading of Policy GARH, governing employee leaves and absences.
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