Just a few years ago, educators warned of the need for equitable access to educational technology for all students, regardless of race or income.
Now, equity-minded educators are spreading an equally urgent message about technology access—especially as it relates to the youngest students.
Equity continues to underpin the message, but the script has flipped.
Early educators’ growing concern centers on too much access to technology from a young age. Recent research validates what some early educators have observed: Excessive screen time for very young children can lead to adverse effects, including the undermining of academic, social-emotional, and behavioral development. And low-income, minority children appear to be most at risk.
The Baltimore City school district is heeding the warning. The majority-minority urban district, in which 55.5% of its estimated 76,000 students are economically disadvantaged, plans to introduce a new approach to technology in grades K-2 this coming school year. The policy will reinforce daily time limits on students’ use of devices and end 1-to-1 device access for students.
“Knowing and seeing the research of how this is impacting Black and brown students long-term, and really thinking about equity and what that looks like, it made us know that we really needed to make sure that we were acting on behalf of our students,” said Crystal Francis, executive director of early learning programs for Baltimore City Public Schools.
Screen time divides: what the data show
Recent research highlights the potential negative effects of excessive screen time on young children. It also shows that, in general, children from minority and low-income households spend more time in front of screens than White, Asian, and higher-income children.
A 2023 review of multiple studies on early screen exposure highlighted the link between excessive early screen exposure and a number of adverse effects—such as delayed cognitive, language, and social-emotional development.
A 2025 national report from Common Sense Media concluded that children from households earning less than $50,000 per year spend twice as much time with screen media as those from households earning $100,000 or more.
In a national 2022 study examining the screen habits of 9- and 10-year-olds from diverse backgrounds, researchers observed differences along racial lines.
Black children reported spending 1.58 more hours of screen time per day than White children, while children of Asian descent reported spending 0.35 fewer hours than White children. The study used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study.
Early educators began to notice changes post-pandemic
Francis says that educators in her district started noticing changes in students when they returned from the COVID-19 pandemic school closures. Many children during that era spent long stretches isolated away from school—likely in front of screens.
“For those students who were born during the pandemic, those first one or two years were spent at home,” said Francis, who oversees early learning for children up to age 5. “They may not have been able to have these really rich [early childhood program] experiences.”
When children started school post-pandemic, they seemed behind. District educators noticed greater-than-normal challenges with behavior, executive functioning, and communication skills, Francis said.
Early educators around the country have made similar observations.
In January 2026, the EdWeek Research Center surveyed 1,163 early educators and administrators who work with children in pre-K through 3rd grade. Respondents reported that young children are struggling more than in recent years in several ways—from everyday classroom routines to emotional regulation.
Parent outreach: keep it nonjudgmental, and offer alternatives to screentime
Some of the screen habits formed during the pandemic may have lingered or become normalized—for family members of all ages. That’s a reality that schools can’t control, Francis acknowledges.
“I can’t necessarily change what’s gonna happen at home,” she said. “But I want to make sure that every kiddo, when they come to Baltimore City Public School pre-K, is gonna have this really rich and wonderful hands-on, screen-free learning experience while they’re here with me for that 6.5 hours.”
When it comes to educating parents on screen time, Francis said she and her colleagues try to maintain a balanced and nonjudgmental approach. That entails recognizing the constraints that many families in her district face when it comes to device use at home.
Parents, for instance, may not be able to provide alternative forms of entertainment for their children at home—especially those whose work hours don’t align with a school schedule. “We know that parents are just trying to do what’s in the best interests of their children,” she said.
On the school system’s Baltimore City early learning social media channels, which address the needs of the district’s children from birth to 5, families can find tips on screen alternatives, or “replacement strategies.” These range from setting daily schedules and timers to limit screen time, to advice on conversation-starters during screen-free family dinners.
Retaining teachers’ autonomy around technology
When the 2026-27 school year begins, early elementary teachers in Baltimore City will head up classrooms guided by new policies around technology.
Pre-K has been and will remain screen-free, Francis said. But in K-2, students will no longer have access to 1:1 devices. Instead, when students access iPads in class, they’ll do so in groups of at least three students per device. Stringent daily limits will also be placed on students’ use of devices: 15 minutes for K through 1st grade students and 20 minutes for 2nd graders.
Teachers will have more leeway in how they use technology. Underlying this autonomy is the expectation that teachers use technology when it supports instruction. This philosophy takes into account teachers’ varying experiences with technology, Francis said.
“When I was teaching, I don’t think I had a laptop. So I would go home and hand color my materials that I was using in class,” she said.
“An eye-opening moment for us came as we were talking with school leaders and thinking about the generation of teachers that we have. We had to ask ourselves, Who are the teachers in front of us, and what is their experience?’”
