After several years of ramping up the use of digital texts and resources, the Lawrence school district will soon guarantee all students have devices available for them to access those materials.

District officials said funds have been budgeted to make sure laptops and portable Wi-Fi hotspots will be available to every student who needs them, starting next school year.

“We will definitely make sure that there is no student that is enrolled in a class that has a digital textbook that does not have access to a device,” said Jennifer Fessenden, coordinator of educational programs and technology for the district.

The changeover to digital has been gradual over the past five years. This school year, digital texts were rolled out for three additional subjects: high school algebra and advanced placement U.S. history, as well as elementary language arts. After those additions, more than 90 percent of students districtwide — or about 10,000 students — have one or more subjects that rely on a digital textbook.

The district’s capital outlay plan for 2016 includes $965,000 to purchase computer and mobile devices and $750,000 toward technology leases. Fessenden said that between $500,000 and $600,000 of the purchases will be technology for additional “blended learning” classrooms, which “blend” traditional instruction, online resources and small-group work. The remainder of those funds and the technology lease funds will be used to ensure access to devices for all students, by either assigning devices to all students in certain grades (going “1-to-1”), expanding the device checkout program, or both.

After teachers raised concerns about inequity, a pilot device checkout program began in September at both high schools. Currently, the program includes 35 laptops and 10 Wi-Fi hotspots available for checkout at each high school. Since its inception, both schools have maintained waiting lists. In December, four students who use the program appealed to the school board to expand it.

One of those students was Lanice Brown, a junior at Free State High School. Brown has two computers at home, but her twin sister uses one for virtual school and another sister is taking online college courses. By the time the computer was free, she said, it was often late, and having a device from the school has helped her be able to do her homework. Brown said she uses her device for schoolwork for three of her classes, and that expanding the device checkout program first and foremost would meet needs quickest.

“I feel like we would be more efficient if we could just get some devices and check them out to the students who actually need them,” she said, explaining that she thinks going 1-to-1 for certain grades might mean some students who don’t actually need a device would be issued one.

Fessenden said expanding checkout programs or otherwise ensuring all students have access to a device is a priority, and that planning for exactly how that will be accomplished is in the works.

“There have not been any additional (devices) added for checkout; however, we have tried to accommodate as best we can,” she said, noting that discussions are ongoing and more specifics should be known in a couple of weeks. “I’d just as soon have those devices in their hands than not.”