Why It Matters
A growing number of states are moving to limit how much time students spend on digital devices during school hours, reflecting bipartisan concern about technology’s effect on child development. Kentucky and its neighbors are watching closely as the regulatory push reaches state capitols and major school districts alike.
What Happened
Four states enacted laws this legislative session restricting or regulating classroom screen time for students from childcare through fifth grade. Iowa, Utah, Tennessee, and Alabama each took a different approach, but all targeted early-grade exposure to digital devices.
Iowa placed a hard cap of 60 minutes per day on digital instruction for kindergarten through fifth grade, carving out exceptions for special education, assessments, and computer science courses. Utah took a broader structural approach, directing its state education board to develop grade-specific technology rules, including restrictions for kindergarten through third grade and a prohibition on one-device-per-student ratios in elementary schools.
Tennessee required every district and charter school serving K–5 students to adopt an age-appropriate digital device policy designed to reduce unnecessary screen time. Alabama focused on the youngest learners, mandating screen time standards and teacher training for childcare facilities, prekindergarten, and kindergarten programs.
Not all state-level efforts succeeded. In Missouri, a bill that would have required districts and charter schools to adopt screen time policies for kindergarten through fifth grade passed the House but stalled in the Senate. An Oklahoma proposal to cap daily screen time at 60 minutes for prekindergarten through fifth grade cleared the House unanimously before also dying in the Senate. The Software and Information Industry Association opposed the Oklahoma measure, characterizing it as an unfunded mandate on school districts.
By the Numbers
4 states passed new screen time laws in the current legislative session.
60 minutes per day — Iowa’s cap on digital instruction for K–5 students.
K–3 — the grade range targeted by Utah’s new restrictions.
60 minutes per subject per week — Los Angeles Unified’s screen limit for middle school students.
90 minutes per subject per week — Los Angeles Unified’s screen limit for high school students, with instructional screen time barred entirely before second grade.
Zoom Out
The state-level legislative push is part of a broader national conversation about children and technology. The Los Angeles Unified School District is implementing its own systemwide, grade-by-grade instructional screen limits — barring screen-based instruction before second grade and setting weekly subject-level caps through high school.
Virginia has taken a different tack, requiring public schools to provide instruction about the time students spend on electronic devices and their addictive potential. Maine is directing a state research institute to study classroom technology use before taking any regulatory action.
Federal attention has also intensified. The Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made screen time a focus area, and the Surgeon General’s office has issued warnings on the subject — adding a national policy dimension to what has largely been a state and local debate.
The movement is not without critics in education technology circles. Tracy Weeks of Instructure argued that policymakers are targeting the wrong variable. “The policy focus has been on minutes, and that’s the wrong conversation to be having,” she said.
Students themselves are divided. Inanna Balkin, a rising high school senior, said “it’s really important for students to learn how to manage their screen time,” suggesting that some young people see value in structured limits rather than viewing them as purely restrictive.
What’s Next
States that passed laws this session will now move to implementation — writing regulations, training teachers, and updating district policies to comply with the new standards. Missouri and Oklahoma legislators may revisit their proposals in future sessions. Meanwhile, school districts in states that have not yet acted — including those in Kentucky, where local communities are already navigating school infrastructure decisions — are watching the emerging framework to determine whether legislative action or local board policy will define their approach.