Los Angeles Schools Set New Limits on Student Device Use

The Los Angeles Unified School District approved a resolution last month that restricts device use for its youngest students and sets screen-time limits for older grades. The rules take effect in the fall and apply across the country’s second-largest school system.

Under the policy, the district will stop providing devices until second grade, limit daily and weekly screen time for higher grades, block YouTube on school devices, and prohibit device use at lunch and recess in elementary and middle schools. 6 billion.

A decade-long effort to close the digital divide accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. public schools reported supplying digital devices to students who needed them, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Many districts shifted spending from textbooks and paper materials to digital tools.

Educational-technology spending grew into a multibillion-dollar industry during that period.

Parents in Los Angeles formed the group Schools Beyond Screens and spoke at board meetings to press for change. One parent, Katie Pace, said her eighth-grade daughter receives a school Chromebook that is used for streaming music and videos during the commute and for online assignments throughout the day.

Other districts have taken similar steps. Fresno Unified School District will require its 40,000 elementary students to return take-home laptops this fall to reduce repair costs of $4 million a year. Simi Valley Unified School District stopped sending devices home for younger students after reports of inappropriate searches and gaming.

At least 14 states have proposed legislation to limit screen time in schools, according to Ballotpedia. The federal government issued an advisory last week noting that excessive screen use among youth is a growing public health concern.