With more parents, teachers, and mental health experts recognizing that excessive use of electronic devices may harm students, several states in the United States are discussing revisions to policies to limit students’ “screen time” and prohibit teachers from using social media to contact students.
Since February, several states in the US have been amending education laws to restrict digital teaching time and students’ use of electronic devices. For example, Tennessee will hold a public hearing of the Senate Education Committee on February 17th (Tuesday) at 3 p.m. to discuss Bill No. 2310, which was passed in the second reading on February 5th. The bill amends Tennessee’s education law and is set to take effect from July 1, 2026.
The new provisions prohibit local education agencies (LEAs) and public charter schools from allowing kindergarten to fifth-grade (K-5) students to use electronic devices on campus. The bill also restricts teachers and other staff from using electronic devices for instruction or assessing K-5 grade students electronically. The bill clarifies the definitions of “electronic devices,” “parents,” and “social media” to ensure clear legislative terminology is used. Of course, the bill also includes some exceptions, such as not applying to public virtual schools.
Missouri lawmakers held a discussion on February 4th on whether to limit elementary students’ daily use of electronic devices to 45 minutes. Republican state representative Tricia Byrnes stated, “This bill is meant to restore balance, common sense, and innocence in Missouri classrooms to prevent our next generation of students from becoming addicted to screens.”
The Kansas House of Representatives organized a hearing on February 6th to discuss Bill No. 2421. The bill requires school districts to prohibit students from using personal electronic devices on campus, restrict district staff from using social media to contact students for school-related purposes, and requires districts to report students’ average daily screen time. Over twenty people testified at the hearing.
Alabama and Utah are making similar efforts to limit the use of electronic devices by students in certain grade levels.
The efforts of state lawmakers are related to a January 15th hearing of the US Senate Commerce Committee. At the hearing, mental health and other experts testified that even when digital devices and platforms are used for educational purposes, policymakers should still limit their use in schools.
Neuroscientist and co-founder of the educational consultancy Learning Made Easy, Jared Cooney Horvath, testified at the hearing that the type of screen students use and whether it is approved by the school are not important. Horvath stated that all of these can harm learning, which in turn can impair our children’s cognitive development.