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When the COVID-19 pandemic forced in-person classroom instruction to go virtual, students to have their own laptops or tablets and complete assignments.

to address . This between students and families who had their own tablets, computers and high-speed internet, and those who did not.

While most schools resumed in-person classes by 2021, on online platforms and apps to help their students do their work.

Today, however, more and more schools are reconsidering how technology fits into teaching and learning, with many districts establishing clearer expectations about when technology should be used, for what purpose and .

So far, as of late July 2026, had introduced or debated legislation addressing classroom screen time or student use of digital devices. Six states had already enacted new laws, while others had considered or failed to pass similar measures.

Iowa, for example, passed a law that for elementary students. Maine鈥檚 legislation did not put specific screen time limits in place but on the impact of classroom technology.

Instead of treating screens as the default tool for instruction, some schools are directing teachers to use laptops only when the technology adds clear instructional value.

Passive consumption or purposeful use?

The Los Angeles Unified School District is one example of a school district that is shifting away from technology in the classrooms.

In June 2026, Los Angeles approved that eliminates in-school screen use for students in preschool through first grade. It also established screen time .

Los Angeles is also moving away from sending school-issued devices home with every student. Instead, elementary students can use shared classroom devices, and families can then opt in for take-home devices in older grades.

The Marietta City Schools district in Georgia is another example. The district adopted a policy in July 2026 that calls for device screens to be 鈥渃losed by default鈥� and used only when they serve .

At the state level, a July 2026 prohibits 1-1 device-per-student ratios for students in kindergarten to third grade. There are some exceptions to this policy, such as when students are taking state standardized tests.

In other states, lawmakers are considering similar laws that would restrict or limit the use of school-issued devices during the school day.

How students use screens matters

What makes these developments notable is not any single policy but how quickly the conversation around education and technology has changed.

The American Academy of Pediatrics children spend on screens each day. Instead, parents and educators could consider the quality of digital experiences and what screen use may be displacing.

Technology can support learning when it is , while excessive or passive screen use that displaces sleep, physical activity, play or may .

This distinction between is increasingly shaping school policy. Updated policies also reflect an emerging emphasis on age-appropriate screen use, student well-being and ensuring that technology can support, rather than replace, .

vary, a common through line is that students鈥� ages matter when it comes to using technology.

For older students, technology may remain central to learning, particularly when students are using it to program, analyze data, model complex systems and critically evaluate information. Younger children, meanwhile, should have sufficient opportunities for play, conversation, writing, movement and hands-on, .

Teachers can still prepare students for a digital world

of the National Academies consensus committee examining the future of data and computing education in K-12 schools, asking a simple question: What do today鈥檚 students need to know about the technologies that increasingly shape their lives?

Our shows that students need to learn more than how to use a laptop or an artificial intelligence chatbot. Our research found that they should also understand how data is collected and used, how AI and other computing systems work, how technology affects people and society, and how to use these tools to solve real problems.

The issue, according to our findings, is not whether students spend more or less time using technology. It is whether the time they spend with technology helps them build understanding, solve problems, think critically and make informed decisions.

arrives at the same : Students learn the most when they actively use technology to investigate questions, analyze information and solve problems 鈥� consume digital content.

that technology was most valuable when students used it to investigate scientific questions, test ideas, create models, work with classmates and explain their reasoning.

The technology itself was not what improved learning. What mattered was how teachers used it to .

The next critical question

For decades, there was a race to get classrooms hooked up to the latest educational technology.

Now, some schools are doing the opposite. This reversal may represent an overdue correction after years of assuming that more technology automatically equated to better learning.

But I think the next chapter should not be defined by counting minutes of screen time. Instead, policymakers, educators and technology developers should consider the more critical question of what kinds of digital experiences are actually worth students鈥� time.

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