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New way of sharing textbooks at Detroit's schools worries some partents

Posted at 5:26 PM, Sep 21, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-21 17:26:38-04

One dad is voicing concerns that a new way of sharing textbooks in schools could leave some students behind.

Bill Thomas says he learned about it after his daughter came home from Cass Tech High School and told him she needed to borrow a text book from a friend to do her homework. 

He wanted to know - why doesn’t she have her own book?

“That kind of concerned me. She said she needed the textbook to complete an assignment,” said Bill Thomas.

7 Action News reached out to the district to find out why all the students didn’t have books.  We were told more books were delivered to the school today, but all kids will not be getting books.

There is a new way of sharing text books in some classes. While there are some hard copies available, the books are also online.  They can be looked at online or downloaded to a flash drive. 

“I had no idea. I am an involved parent. If I don’t know, other parents don’t know,” said Thomas.

Thomas  said he is worried some kids will be left behind, if their parents can’t afford reliable internet.  He says there are low-cost internet services available, but they are unreliable.

Parents who volunteer at the school say if a student  doesn’t have access to the internet, if they ask for help getting access to their assignments, they will get what they need.