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
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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
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, shakes hands with the organizers of the event at the Hubert Humphrey Building in Washington on Sept. 1, 2026.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, shakes hands with the organizers of an event focused on the harms of student screen time at the Hubert Humphrey Building in Washington on Sept. 1, 2026. The symposium is part of HHS’s Live Real Life campaign, a national effort aimed at helping families, schools, and communities reduce harmful screen use and create more opportunities for children to engage in real-world experiences.
Sarah L. Voisin For Education Week
Ed-Tech Policy RFK Jr. Calls for Children to Have 'Less Screen Time and More Real Life'
Speakers at an event hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services discuss the harms of student screen time, and possible solutions.
Jennifer Vilcarino, September 1, 2026
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4 min read
MEAD, CO - AUGUST 18: Parents watch and and take photos of their kids as they enter the school during their first day of class at the Big Sky PK-8 School in Mead on Aug. 18, 2026.
Parents watch their kids as they enter the school on the first day of class at the Big Sky PK-8 School in Mead, Colo., on Aug. 18, 2026. As schools face growing backlash from parents over their use of educational technology, a school communications professional has some pointers on how schools can communicate with parents about how they're using technology.
Joel Solis/MediaNews Group/Boulder Daily Camera via Getty Images
Classroom Technology Q&A Facing 'Techlash,' How Should Schools Talk to Parents About Tech Use?
A school communications expert explains how schools should approach their messaging around tech.
Arianna Prothero, August 21, 2026
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5 min read
Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education Kirsten Baesler speaks during the National Forum on Education Policy in Washington, DC on Wednesday July 8, 2026.
Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education Kirsten Baesler speaks during the National Forum on Education Policy in Washington on Wednesday, July 8, 2026. Baesler urged educators to ensure ed tech is delivering results for students, rather than focus single-mindedly on the amount of time students are spending on screens in class.
Demetrius Freeman for Education Week
Classroom Technology It's About Quality Tech Use, Not Screen Time, Trump's Top K-12 Official Argues
Trump administration's top K-12 official urges educators to focus on whether ed tech is effective.
Alyson Klein, August 20, 2026
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5 min read
Imran, left, confers with his math partner Nataly as the fifth graders solve a problem using base-10 rods at Hawthorne Elementary School, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023 , in Seattle .
Imran, left, confers with his math partner Nataly as the 5th graders solve a problem using base-10 rods at Hawthorne Elementary School in Seattle on Jan. 24, 2023. Some parents in the city, which issues devices to all students, have opted their children out of school-issued technology.
Ken Lambert/Seattle Times via TNS
Classroom Technology These Kids Are Learning Without Tech in a District That Gives Out Devices to All
Some parents in this city opted their children out of school-issued devices.
Claire Bryan, The Seattle Times, August 17, 2026
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10 min read
Ninth-graders Charley Mays, left, and Grace Coleman work on iPads during an honors physical science class at Minnetonka High School on Oct. 30, 2019 in Minnetonka, Minnesota .
Ninth-graders Charley Mays, left, and Grace Coleman work on iPads during an honors physical science class at Minnetonka High School on Oct. 30, 2019 in Minnetonka, Minn. Some experts caution schools not to go too far in dialing back the use of classroom technologies, a trend called the "techlash" that is driven by concerns about the overuse of technology in schools.
Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune via TNS
Classroom Technology Q&A Why a 'Blunt Force' Approach to Screen Time May Be Problematic
District and state leaders should avoid one-size-fits-all mandates on screen time, expert argues.
Alyson Klein, August 17, 2026
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3 min read
Classroom Technology Spotlight Spotlight on the Screen Time Reckoning: Educators, Parents, and the Fight for Healthier Classrooms
Screens are reshaping classrooms, but educators are pushing back to restore balance, protect learning, and prioritize human connection.
August 14, 2026
Numberpad visible on keyboard of ASUS CX1 Chromebook, Lafayette, California, October 27, 2025.
The Canon-McMillan school district in Pennsylvania is one of a growing number of school districts that are scaling back students’ classroom screen time. Students in grades K-2 will no longer have regular access to school-issued laptops or tablets, and students in grades 3-8 will have limited access through Chromebook carts.
Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Sipa via AP Images
Classroom Technology Q&A Why This District Is Getting Rid of Chromebooks for K-2 Students
Some parents, educators, and even students are souring on the ubiquitous presence of the technology.
Lauraine Langreo, August 11, 2026
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6 min read
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Robyn Lady, a member of the Fairfax County School Board in Virginia, left, and Rachel Edoho-Eket, a principal in Howard County, Md., participate in a panel discussion titled "Building Trust With Families in a Skeptical Age" at the ISTELive 26 + ASCD Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., on June 30, 2026. The growing backlash against the overuse of technology in schools is forcing school and district leaders to have some difficult conversations with parents.
Marvin Joseph/Education Week
Classroom Technology How District and School Leaders Respond to the 'Techlash' Will Be Critical
Educators recommend showing parents how technology is used for learning.
Alyson Klein, August 4, 2026
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4 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Classroom Technology Opinion We’re Finally Starting to Ask the Right Questions About Ed Tech
Concerns about screen-saturated schools underscore a sense that “innovation” exacts a human cost.
Rick Hess, August 4, 2026
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5 min read
Image of a teacher and student balancing digital and traditional schoolwork approaches.
Robert Neubecker for Education Week.
Classroom Technology Schools Brace for Growing Backlash to Classroom Screen Time
Many school leaders think a tech reset is overdue, but don't want to dump what's helping kids learn.
Arianna Prothero, August 3, 2026
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7 min read
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Students at Loving Elementary School in Loving, N.M., participate in a science, technology, engineering and math lab on May 19, 2025. A rising number of school districts around the country are making decisions to cut back on the amount of time students spend using technology in the classroom.
Susan Montoya Bryan/AP Photo
Classroom Technology From Our Research Center How Much Time Are Students Spending on Tech in Classrooms?
Schools are wrestling with the backlash against students' classroom screen time.
Lauraine Langreo, July 24, 2026
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1 min read
New York School Cellphone Ban 25119009936115
A student uses a cellphone after unlocking the pouch that secures it from use during the school day at Bayside Academy in San Mateo, Calif., on Aug. 16, 2024. Experts say schools can give parents valuable advice about how to make sure their children are not spending too much time viewing screens.
Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via AP
Families & the Community How Schools Can Help Parents Manage Kids' Screen Time
From bullying to losing sleep, what kids do at home on screens affects their learning.
Arianna Prothero, July 21, 2026
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8 min read