SkieCan parents change the rules on a school tablet?
No. On a school device the parent role is read-only, so parents can look at their child's tablet status but cannot change apps, filters, schedules or protections. Only school admins and teachers with the right role can change rules, and one organisation controls a device at a time.
A school tablet has one owner of the rules, and that is the school. Skie enforces this in two ways. First, the parent role is read-only, so there is simply no button for a parent to change an app list or turn off a filter. Second, a device belongs to one organisation, so a family and a school cannot both manage the same tablet.
This matters for fairness. If one parent could unlock an app for their child, every other family would ask for the same, and the school's policy would stop meaning anything. A fixed set of rules, applied the same way across a class, is easier to explain and easier to defend.
Parents are not shut out, though. They can see status, they can talk to the teacher, and the school can change a rule on request. If a parent wants a different app, the request goes to the school, which can add it to the group's list through the usual approval flow. Some schools offer a short form, so the answer is on record.
Whether a school lets parents opt out of the tablet programme altogether is a school policy decision, and not a Skie setting. Decide it before launch and say it clearly in the parent letter.
Google Family Link is designed for a parent to run a child's own device, so there the parent has the controls. On a school tablet that arrangement would work against the school, which is why the roles are separate.
A practical tip: put a sentence in the device agreement such as the school sets the rules on school devices, and parents are welcome to ask for changes. Then keep your promise and answer quickly.