LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Unified School District will implement a new screen-time policy in fall 2024 that bans devices for students until second grade, imposes daily and weekly screen limits for older grades, blocks YouTube on school devices, and prohibits device use during lunch and recess in elementary and middle school. The Los Angeles school board passed a resolution mandating these changes and requiring the district to audit its education technology contracts.

Board member Nick Melvoin drafted the resolution, saying, “During the pandemic, getting kids devices was a lifeline. Now, it’s time that we reset.” Melvoin added that teachers are too often replacing instruction with online apps and using screens “as a crutch.”

The policy reverses a decade-long push to put a device in every child’s hand to close the so-called “digital divide,” a trend that accelerated when education shifted online in March 2020. By the 2021–2022 school year, 96% of U.S. public schools had distributed digital devices to students who needed them, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Many schools redirected funding from textbooks and print materials to digital alternatives, contributing to the growth of the multibillion-dollar edtech industry.

Los Angeles middle school teacher Anna Soffer said, “The Chromebook is just a world of distraction.” She added, “Every day, I’m battling, ’Who would you rather listen to, Ms. Soffer or Minecraft?’”

Parent Katie Pace, a member of the advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens, criticized current screen use. “My daughter went to middle school and was sent home with a screen addiction in her backpack,” Pace said. She added, “It makes me furious.” Pace said her daughter used to read books after school but no longer does, and device history shows hours spent streaming music, making Spotify playlists, and watching YouTube makeup tutorials and cat videos.

At least 14 states have proposed laws to limit screen time in schools, according to Ballotpedia. The federal government has issued an advisory warning that excessive screen use among youths is a growing public health concern. The teachers union says the district’s education technology contracts amount to $1.6 billion.