Restricting Screen Time in the Elementary

At the beginning of the last school year, the Board of Directors asked to consider a policy that would restrict or ban the use of cell phones in our school district. During that fall term, we gathered community and family input then crafted a policy that was ready for board action right before Christmas break. We found the feedback to be incredibly diverse, with some parents in favor of very strong and strict regulations, where others had views representing the polar opposite.

It was right around that time we learned the governor was planning to introduce legislation on this very topic for the upcoming legislative session. So we tabled action. Ultimately, legislation was passed requiring school districts to adopt policies restricting cell phones during the school year. Our policy was subsequently adopted and went into effect at the start of the current school year. 

To remind you our policy does not outright ban these devices, (with the exception being elementary and middle school) but instead restricts when they can be used. There was quite a bit of debate at the time as to whether or not high school students should be allowed to use devices between classes or at lunch. We erred on the side of allowing them. While we are not currently debating an amendment to the policy, many school districts are. 

School districts aren't the only ones who are currently considering further limits to screen time. In last week's column, we discussed some of the provisions and amendments that are included in HF2676 AKA, the governor's Make America Healthy Again bill. You'll recall my description of this bill as a 'Christmas Tree' bill because of all the amendments that were attached to it. In my staff bulletin for that week, I think I described it as a frankenstein bill. One of the amendments that I didn't get to, simply due to lack of space is included in Division VII of the bill: 'Student Instructional Technology Standards'. 

This section of the bill aims to limit screen time in the elementary school to no more than 60 minutes per day. I actually have some mixed feelings about this proposal. On one hand, it makes a ton of sense, particularly when squared with the research and the work that Jonathan Haidt continues to advance. Truth be told, when we were debating our own policies, it didn't take long to circle back to this idea that it didn't make a whole lot of sense to restrict cell phones if all students needed to do is open up an iPad to scroll through social media. Good point.

'they called it progress'
click the picture to view
the video on YouTube

The challenge to the proposal is the enormous investment that we have made, not only in the hardware: but software. Physical textbooks are quickly becoming a thing of the past. When I first started in this job, whenever we went through a curriculum adoption the books, assessment packages, and accommodations manual were the 'thing' we purchased. The vendor would 'throw in' a copy of the online material at no extra charge. In those days, most schools were still operating stand alone computer labs so the idea of online textbooks was novel. So then, sometime in July, a truck would show up and unload several pallets of the new stuff. Today, the material is primarily online and they will throw in a set of classroom set of physical textbooks at no cost. No doubt the complete opposite of they way curricular material was procured an the onset of my career. 

Granted a lot of this is more geared toward middle school level and beyond. We still have ample material in our elementary that is physical, consumable textbooks. But our intervention system is not. It may be a difficult needle to thread, but is it worth threading? Probably so. One of the parts of this proposal I can definitely get behind: a complete prohibition of the device at recess!

Finally, as I was considering the content of today's column I stumbled across the video at the left in my LinkedIn feed. It really illustrates how ubiquitous technology has become in the lives of our young people and asks us to consider the price we are paying for progress. Simply click the picture and it should take you to the video. It's both a bit funny, and kind of sad at the same time.