Some Duncanville ISD families upset district providing one device per household

DUNCANVILLE, Texas - Virtual learning is off to a rough start for some Duncanville families.

The district is only providing one device per household, meaning some siblings are forced to share.

“This is something that needs to be brought to attention because … I know it’s not just me,” said mom Jenesia McDougal.

The single parent has three kids in Duncanville ISD. Her oldest, a tenth grader, received a district-provided Chromebook at the end of spring semester.  Her youngest two are in sixth and seventh grade and she thought they would receive district devices as well.

“Because he has a device signed in under his name, that’s what the first email went out saying, oh you already have a device in your household you’re not approved. Wait until the next wave of registrations to go out and see if you, if one will be deployed out with the next roll,” McDougal said.

McDougal now has three devices thanks to a stranger.

A woman McDougal connected with via social media saw a post where she expressed her frustration. That woman, who does not want to be identified, told FOX4 she’s raising money through donations to help families in McDougal’s situation.

“I ended up getting two from her. She was a life saver for that,” McDougal said. “Because of a stranger that I met online. It took that for us to get assistance. That speaks volumes within this atmosphere of times right now.”

Duncanville ISD said it has distributed more than 6,000 devices.

“As more technology devices are received by the district and additional families enroll, we will continue to distribute devices to our families. We are committed to providing at least one device per household and then addressing specific family dynamics,” said Superintendent Dr. Marc Smith in a statement.