Henrico County Public Schools

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The Henrico County Public Schools system is a Virginia school division that operates as a branch of the Henrico County, Virginia county government, and administers public schools in the county. It does not operate schools in the City of Richmond; even though Richmond is the county seat of Henrico County, it is a separate political entity from the county (see independent city). Schools in the city are operated by the Richmond City Public Schools division.

Henrico County was one of the first school districts in the country to distribute laptops to students, during the 2001 school year. Initially, the $18.5 million dollar project was for high school students alone. However, the middle school program was also phased in in 2002. Up until the 2005-2006 school year, Apple computers were used; however, that year, Dell won over the contract with HCPS for high school students, due mainly to polls conducted saying that students would prefer PCs over Macs. Middle schools have yet to phase in Dell computers.

Response to the program has been mainly positive. During a random survey where 796 homes were polled, 88% of parents were in favor of continuing the program. It has received much acclaim nation-wide as being a "trail-blazer" in technology for public schools.

Despite this, there are still some criticisms. Many students believe that the computers are not being used to their full advantage, and the idea that it would replace heavy textbooks has yet to come to a reality, as most students just view it as a note-taking device.

During the 2006-2007 school year, filters that were previously only implemented at school were placed on the computers for students who had internet at home as well. This received a harsh backlash, mainly from students, due to the filter's un-reliable reputation for blocking things it shouldn't, as well as the simple fact that it is confusing as to why the schools would mind students doing the most meaningless of non-educational tasks, such as checking their e-mail. Many times, a student may need to access a website he or she deems useful for school purposes, but cannot because the filter is under the false impression that it isn't a school-related website.