School districts from Los Angeles to rural North Carolina are taking steps to rein in technology use, especially among younger students, as part of a growing movement to reverse technological saturation in classrooms.
The nation’s second-largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, announced in April it would ban digital device use in kindergarten and first grade and allow limited use of Chromebooks and other devices for grades 2-5. The district also plans to reduce video-aided lesson plans and access to streaming, gaming and social media sites.
The trend is accelerating following successful efforts to ban cellphones in schools, the Associated Press reported. Parents have increasingly limited their children’s technology use at home but often could not do so at school, prompting some to push for restrictions.
Ongoing debates, including in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, a wealthy Philadelphia suburb, are playing out in real time.
