District 26 Parents and Guardians,
YouTube can be a valuable learning tool. It holds a wealth of high-quality educational videos that help students build understanding both in the classroom and beyond it. At the same time, the platform also contains a great deal of content that isn’t appropriate for children. With roughly 700,000 hours of new video uploaded every day, the sheer volume of content means that reviewing YouTube channel by channel or video by video is not a reliable way to keep students safe. For this reason, many districts have chosen to block YouTube on student devices, and District 26 will be taking that step for our youngest learners.
What’s changing
Beginning Monday, November 2, 2026, YouTube will be blocked on all district-issued iPads for students in Kindergarten through 5th grade. Because our web filter travels with the device, YouTube will be unavailable on these iPads at school, at home, and anywhere else they connect to the internet.
Why we’re waiting until November
Many of our teachers use carefully selected YouTube videos in their lessons. Teachers will still be able to show these videos to the whole class from their own devices. However, any YouTube video a teacher has linked or assigned for students to watch on their own iPads will stop working once the block is in place. The time between now and November 2 gives our K–5 teachers the opportunity to adjust their lessons and find other ways to share these resources with students.
Looking ahead
The District is also beginning conversations about YouTube access at Cary Junior High. Lessons, assignments, and resources at the Junior High level rely on video in different ways, so this work will take more time. We will continue to support our staff as we explore solutions, and we will keep families informed as decisions are made.
Thank you for your continued partnership in keeping our students safe and engaged online. If you have questions, please contact us.
