A laptop computer is required for all high school students by the 10th grade. It teaches children responsibility (for owning an expensive piece of electronics) while also assisting them in completing their academics. Your kid WILL REQUIRE A COMPUTER FOR COLLEGE. There are many courses and programs now available online that don't require any kind of hardware device to complete. High school students need laptops to take notes in class, read text documents, and surf the web. Some schools may have computers available for student use during lunch and after school, but most young people I know own their own laptops. In addition to being used for education purposes, laptops can be useful tools for learning programming languages such as Python or Java. These types of computers allow students to explore topics outside of school through websites like YouTube. The internet is a very powerful tool for learning and it's important for students to understand its limitations too. Parents should discuss these issues with their kids before they go to school each day so there aren't any surprises when the child returns home. It is possible to get by without a laptop in high school if you are more interested in socializing than in surfing the web or writing papers. Most colleges will allow you to submit handwritten applications as well as apply online. This may be your only option if you miss a lot of school because of illness or some other reason.