LAUSD moves to limit screens

Los Angeles Unified’s board voted on April 21 to write districtwide limits on how long students can use school screens during the day. (lausd.org) The resolution passed 6-0 with one recusal and orders staff to bring back a policy for board approval by June, with rollout planned for the 2026-27 school year. (edsource.org) (laist.com) The draft policy is supposed to set daily and weekly limits by grade, push more paper-and-pen assignments, and bar student-led access to YouTube and other video-streaming platforms on school devices. (laist.com) (lausd.org) For the youngest students, the resolution points toward eliminating device use in early education through first grade, with exceptions for virtual learning and some required assessments. An example in the proposal suggested no more than one hour a day, or five hours a week, for third through fifth graders, though the final limits have not been set. (edsource.org) The shift lands in the nation’s second-largest school district, which says it enrolls more than 520,000 students across Los Angeles and surrounding communities. Board member Nick Melvoin said the district never fully reset its classroom-tech habits after sending devices home during the pandemic. (lausd.org) (laist.com) District leaders are tying the move to a broader rethink of student technology after Los Angeles Unified approved a cellphone ban in 2024. Reuters reported the new measure would make the district among the first in the country to pursue systemwide, grade-by-grade classroom screen limits. (lausd.org) (usnews.com) Parents in the group Schools Beyond Screens spent months pressing the district, arguing that daily Chromebook and iPad use was crowding out handwriting, reading practice and play, especially in the early grades. One parent told LAist her son started bringing home a laptop in second grade and struggled with keyboard-based schoolwork before he had learned to type. (edsource.org) (laist.com) Supporters on the board said they are not trying to remove technology from schools altogether. Melvoin said the goal is to “rethink school time and screen time,” while Acting Superintendent Andrés Chait said classroom tech should support instruction, engagement and student well-being. (edsource.org) (lausd.org) The resolution also leaves room for objections about access and accommodations. Reuters reported that skeptics warned any limits will need to protect students with disabilities who rely on technology, and district staff still have to decide how the rules will vary by grade, subject and mandated testing. (usnews.com) (edsource.org) For now, nothing changes in classrooms until staff return with the detailed policy in June. The vote set the direction: fewer open-ended screens, more limits by age, and more non-digital schoolwork for Los Angeles students. (laist.com) (lausd.org)