Screen Time

Get up-to-date on the ed-tech backlash as educators and parents are thinking about how much time students should spend on devices at school
The Google logo is seen on a building in New York, Oct. 27, 2025.
The Google logo is displayed on a building in New York on Oct. 27, 2025. The tech company plans to make big changes to Google Classroom that could affect schools that are trying to restrict the use of artificial intelligence.
Gene J. Puskar/AP
Artificial Intelligence Google's New Rules Hand Schools Hard Choices About AI and Search
The tech company plans to give schools an "on/off" switch for AI. They will soon have to decide.
Grace Jiang, November 3, 2026
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5 min read
Collage art of a student, clock, and laptop.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week + Getty
Classroom Technology From Our Research Center 'Techlash' Is Strongest in Suburban and Rural Schools
Attitudes of parents toward digital tools appear to vary by location, the EdWeek Research Center found.
Alyson Klein, October 29, 2026
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2 min read
Katrina Sacurom, a teacher at Shawnee Trail Elementary School, in Frisco, Texas, works with her educator peers on Feb. 11, 2026. Sacurom has personalized her school's AI tool to mimic her writing style. A survey conducted by the EdWeek Research Center finds that educators who are relatively new to the profession are more skeptical that tech can positively influence learning than are veterans in the profession.
Emily Bennett teaches freshman algebra at DeTour High School/DeTour Arts and Technology Academy De Tour Village, Mich. on September 22, 2025. She is a first-year high school math teacher.
John T. Greilick/The Detroit News via TNS
Classroom Technology From Our Research Center Newer Educators Are Less Likely to Say Tech Helps Students Learn
Many teachers new to the profession are more sketpical than veterans about the value of devices.
Alyson Klein, October 28, 2026
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2 min read
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Artificial Intelligence Webinar AI and 'Techlash' Are on a Collision Course. How Should Schools Respond?
Learn what strategies and tactics schools can develop to encourage smart and responsible AI use, while also enforcing tech guardrails.
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October 28, 2026
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Classroom Technology Webinar Screen Time and AI: An Evidence Playbook for School Leaders
Get a clearer picture of the current policy landscape, a framework for evaluating new tools, plus language to use in the next board meeting.
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Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty
Artificial Intelligence Headlines Warn of an AI Apocalypse. How Should Schools Respond?
Panic-inducing AI headlines might prompt schools to hit pause and review the tech more carefully.
Alyson Klein, September 22, 2026
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6 min read
An anti-AI flag is shown during a protest against artificial intelligence in San Francisco on July 11, 2026. Parents who are advocating against the overuse of technology in education say AI bans in schools are a good step to address their concerns, but they also want to see classroom restrictions on screen time and use of platforms such as YouTube.
An anti-AI flag is shown during a protest against artificial intelligence in San Francisco on July 11, 2026. Parents who are advocating against the overuse of technology in education say AI bans in schools are a good step to address their concerns, but they also want to see classroom restrictions on screen time and use of platforms such as YouTube.
Jason Henry/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Artificial Intelligence Banning AI Alone Won't Snuff Out the 'TechLash,' Parent Advocates Say
Parents worry about AI but also data privacy, video use, and screen time in general, advocates say.
Alyson Klein, September 16, 2026
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6 min read
Mustard unveils their new consumer line of AI smart glasses with built-in privacy guards during 2025 CES Unveiled, on Jan. 5, 2025, in Las Vegas.
Mustard unveils its new consumer line of AI smart glasses with built-in privacy guards during 2025 CES Unveiled, on Jan. 5, 2025, in Las Vegas. Some schools are banning smart glasses as they crack down on students' digital technology use.
Jack Dempsey/AP
Ed-Tech Policy Districts Expand Cellphone Bans to Target AI Smart Glasses. Why It Matters
Smart glasses are particularly challenging to regulate because it’s harder to tell when kids are using them, experts say
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens & Lauraine Langreo, September 14, 2026
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3 min read
On off button on a tech background.
Getty
Artificial Intelligence AI Is Working Its Way Into Everything. Can School Districts Really Ban It?
It’s very difficult—maybe even impossible—to turn off generative AI for entire school districts.
Alyson Klein, September 9, 2026
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4 min read
Karin Prien, Federal Minister of Education, Family, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth; Francesco Avvisati, OECD, co-author of the PISA study; Prof. Dr. Samuel Greiff, Director of the PISA National Center at TUM and Chairman of the Board of the ZIB; and Anna Stolz, President of the Conference of Education Ministers and Bavarian Minister of State for Education and Cultural Affairs, present the PISA study in Berlin, Germany, on Sept. 8, 2026.
The PISA results were released Sept. 8 and showed global declines in three subjects. International education luminaries presented the findings: Karin Prien, the federal minister of education, family, senior citizens, women, and youth; Francesco Avvisati of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and co-author of the PISA report; Prof. Dr. Samuel Greiff, director of the PISA National Center at the Technical University of Munich; and Anna Stolz, president of the conference of education ministers and Bavarian minister of state for education and cultural affairs.
Christian Marquardt/NurPhoto via AP
Student Achievement 3 Takeaways From the Latest PISA Test of Reading, Math, and Science
The results show reading performance dropping across the world—and one uniquely troubling U.S. trend.
Sarah Schwartz, September 8, 2026
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5 min read
Yair Lev stands by as a screen displaying an itinerary for a Lower Merion Board of School Directors meeting at the Lower Merion School District Administration Building on May 11, 2026, in Ardmore, Pa.
Yair Lev stands by as a screen displaying a document for a school district board of directors meeting at the Lower Merion school district administration building on May 11, 2026, in Ardmore, Pa. Lev is among a group of parents who have sued the Philadelphia-area school district seeking the ability to opt their children out of the required use of school technology.
Joe Lamberti/AP
Law & Courts These Parents Want to Opt Their Kids Out of Ed Tech. Can They Win in Court?
Parents in a Pennsylvania district say ed tech distracts from more meaningful learning.
Mark Walsh, September 8, 2026
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10 min read
BigIdeas0926 Bushweller
Illustration by Emily Wright for Education Week + Getty
School & District Management Reported Essay It's Not About Being Nice. Fearless Leadership Requires Curiosity and Candor
Just ask the leader mediating an ugly school mascot fight or restructuring a once-segregated school.
Kevin Bushweller, September 8, 2026
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14 min read
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Students at a high school in Plymouth, Ohio work on how to properly prompt the Gemini AI app on Aug. 28, 2026. A new report of the American Psychological Association warns that student engagement with tech apps should not be conflated with benefits for learning.
Ruddy Roye for Education Week
Classroom Technology Q&A Students’ Tech Engagement Doesn’t Equal Learning, Psychologists Warn
A panel of psychologists shares recommendations for ensuring technology promotes meaningful learning.
Lauraine Langreo, September 4, 2026
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6 min read
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels today announced a moratorium on student-facing generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) use in schools, alongside a new screen time policy, a decision that will impact nearly 600,000 public school students, or two-thirds of the system's total enrollment at The Brooklyn Steam Center in New York City on Sept. 2, 2026.
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels announced a moratorium on student-facing generative artificial intelligence use in schools and a new screen-time policy during a press conference at The Brooklyn Steam Center in New York City on Sept. 2, 2026. The moratorium is part of a growing nationwide movement to ban or limit the use of AI and decrease screen time in schools.
Katie Godowski/MediaPunch /IPX via AP
Artificial Intelligence New York, Los Angeles Restrict Student AI Use. Will Other Districts Follow?
The restrictions come amid rising concerns about overreliance on technology in schools.
Alyson Klein, September 2, 2026
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7 min read