SALINE, MI - Every freshman at Saline High School will be required to bring a laptop with them to school every day, starting this fall.

Saline Area Schools, located in Washtenaw County, recently announced the "Bring Your Own Device" program, prompting questions from parents about cybersecurity and the cost of devices.

Eventually, all high school students will be expected to bring their own devices for use in class.

As area school districts look for more ways to incorporate technology into classrooms, some have turned to voters to support bonds to fund expensive equipment. Others make do by providing shared devices, and some schools have adopted Bring Your Own Device programs that rely on families to provide computers for each student.

Walled Lake Consolidated Schools - which enrolls 13,955 students in Oakland County - has been a pioneer in putting laptops in the hands of students, starting with an optional 1:1 laptop program in 1999, then moving to a Bring Your Own Device initiative in 2014.

"Due to there being more affordable and flexible device purchase options, technology became more accessible to students," said Pam Shoemaker, instructional technology coach at Walled Lake Schools. "Our goal is for all teachers to integrate authentic and effective use of technology in classrooms, and the BYOD program supports our efforts."

Because Saline Schools will not purchase a laptop for every high school student and have to replace the devices every four years, the district will have more money to spend on technology infrastructure and other classroom resources, said Superintendent Scot Graden.

"It's new, but in some ways, it's just kind of a new iteration," Graden said, adding that middle and high school students already use smartphones and laptops in class, at the discretion of their teachers.

About 30 Saline parents and staff members attended a meeting Monday, April 30, to learn more about the new Bring Your Own Device program, where their questions centered on how teachers can monitor the way students use their laptops during class, and what security measures will be in place. Parents also asked what type of devices would be best for students and what they cost.

Saline Schools will provide financial assistance to families who cannot afford to buy their student a device, and the district is offering a special $161 price on Chromebooks purchased through InaComp, a Southfield-based tech company.

It's difficult to estimate how many students may take advantage of the financial assistance, Graden said, but administrators are using the number of students who qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches - based on household income level - as a general guide.

That's about 11 percent of Saline's incoming ninth-grade class, or 48 students, according to data from the Center for Educational Performance and Information.

One Saline parent who said she will have four children in high school at one time voiced concerns about the cost of purchasing - and potentially repairing or replacing laptops for all of her children.

Other Saline parents discussed ways to market the less expensive Chromebooks to families, knowing the first instinct for some parents will be to buy their children top-of-the-line laptops.

"I think a lot of parents, even I, was hesitant about having to go buy my kid their own device. But I know it's helpful," said Stacey Melcher, whose children are currently in eighth and 11th grade at Saline schools.

For other school districts, having families purchase devices is not a viable option, and the expense of providing 1:1 technology - meaning a device available for every student - is prohibitive.

Ypsilanti Community Schools - where 75 percent of students are economically disadvantaged - previously offered 1:1 technology for as many as 320 students in its New Tech small learning community at the high school. That program closed going into the 2017-18 school year, and administrators cited the estimated $86,500 expense of replacing laptops for New Tech students as one of the factors.

Dexter Community Schools had an iPad, Chromebook or other type of laptop available for every one of its 3,600 students going into the 2016-17 school year, thanks to state grants and matching funds from the school district. About 11 percent of Dexter students are economically disadvantaged.

Manchester Community Schools started its 1:1 technology initiative in the 2012-13 school year thanks to private donors, Robert and Ellen Thompson, said Jim Wonnell, business manager for the school district.

K-4 students use iPads, and older students are assigned Chromebooks, with some high school students bringing in their own devices, said Nathan Betz, director of technology. Manchester Schools enrolls 981 students in southwest Washtenaw County, about 24 percent of whom are economically disadvantaged.

In 2014, Manchester voters passed a bond to raise $3.6 million, with more than two-thirds of that money dedicated to technology expenses, Wonnell said. All Manchester Schools' computer devices were replaced in 2016, and they're planning another round of replacements in the 2019-20 school year.

"While (the 2014) bond did not start our 1:1 program, the district has committed significant community resources from it to its continuation," Wonnell said. "Keeping current technology in the hands of our students is the key to its success."