COLUMBUS, Ohio – State lawmakers rejected, at least for now, a $225,000 request for 120 virtual reality headsets for incarcerated youth.
The Department of Youth Services asked the Ohio Controlling Board, a panel of Ohio lawmakers that approve certain state contracts, to OK the purchase of the headsets. They would go to four facilities that comprise a school district the department runs for the kids in state custody.
Steven Hrinko, who oversees procurement for the department, said Monday the money would come from a federal grant to help support science, technology, engineering and math education.
The grant can fund either equipment or teachers’ salaries. Hrinko said the grant would start a pilot program, which he believed was a first for virtual reality in schools. He acknowledged some concern with kids entering a whole new realm of immersive screen time.
“It’s hard to keep kids’ attention,” he said. “This is another means to help them learn.”
The headsets allow students to “access different topics such as sciences, writing skills, human biology to name a few,” according to the contract approval request. The headsets themselves are a bright orange, boxy rectangle, strapped on to students’ heads like goggles, with a wire feeding from the side of the device to a handheld controller.
And the technology allows teachers to view the devices in real time as students go through virtual reality lessons, allowing for feedback. Illinois-based Avantis Education Inc., which provided the lowest bid for the headsets, describes itself in marketing materials as the world’s leading virtual and augmented reality solution for schools.
While most Controlling Board requests are approved with little to no back-and-forth, two House Republicans – state Reps. Brian Stewart and Nick Santucci – questioned Hrinko on screen time implications or other uses for the grant.
The board then broke into recess. It reconvened, with its chair announcing it would defer action on the request for more discussion. State Sen. Catherine Ingram, a Cincinnati-area Democrat, said she wants more clarity on how the department would evaluate the use of the VR headsets and why they’re needed in the first place.
When asked how the headsets serve the kids Aaron Mulvey, a spokesman for the Department of Youth Services, said they offer “standards-aligned resources like worksheets and readings alongside immersive content” to complete a “blended” model.
“This technology provides innovative and multifaceted tools to enrich youth education across diverse subjects while simultaneously supporting their well-being with the goal of enhancing public safety through education,” he said.
Jake Zuckerman covers state politics and policy for Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.