I'd be willing to accept school-issued laptops, if any monitoring software is loudly announced, and the parents can modify/install/remove software as they wish.

I'd be willing to accept school-issued laptops, if any monitoring software is loudly announced, and the parents can modify/install/remove software as they wish. I.e. with the exception of needing to return them, it's their laptop - no "it's okay if they spy on you because they're not really yours" justifications.