Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Education defended technology use in classrooms in a Dear Colleague letter issued Thursday, saying the use of ed tech is a separate issue from the use of recreational technology.
- The letter signed by Kirsten Baesler, assistant secretary in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, acknowledged the growing concerns from parents, educators and policymakers on students’ screen time in schools. But these concerns, the letter said, require both “thoughtful consideration” and “careful distinction.”
- Policies on screen time and technology use in schools should be made by states and local communities, the letter said, noting that stakeholders’ questions should focus on whether ed tech is improving learning and student outcomes — not whether students and teachers should use technology.
Dive Insight:
The Dear Colleague letter marks one of the first times the Education Department has taken a stance in the K-12 screen time debate since it gained momentum across the U.S. earlier this year.
Policies limiting or banning screen time in classrooms have been implemented in some school systems — including Los Angeles Unified School District — and at least six states in 2026. The changes have emerged as parents, community leaders and policymakers raise questions about the impact of technology on children’s well-being and data privacy just years after the COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed the widespread adoption of 1:1 device programs in schools.
But school leaders and K-12 technology experts have in recent months warned against state and district policies that simply focus on limiting or banning the amount of time students spend on screens. For instance, the Consortium for School Networking released guidance earlier in August that emphasized the importance of reducing “low-value” screen use and ensuring that devices are used for clear instructional purposes.
The Education Department’s Dear Colleague letter, which is used as guidance and not a measure of federal enforcement, also advises that policymaking on technology use in schools “should focus on educational value rather than screen exposure alone.”
The letter said ed tech has expanded access to learning opportunities that may have been impossible a generation ago. That includes helping students in rural and isolated communities to access tutoring, or using digital learning to assist schools with persistent staffing challenges by connecting students to qualified teachers — even if they’re not local.
Additionally, the letter said, digital assessment tools have transformed educators’ ability to measure and support student instruction. Technology has also expanded educational access to students with disabilities who use assistive technology like text-to-speech, speech-to-text or real-time captioning.
“These examples illustrate why education technology should not be evaluated solely by the amount of time students spend using it,” the letter said. “The same technology that can distract a student during recreational use can also connect a student in a rural community to advanced coursework, enable a student with dyslexia to access complex text through assistive technology, or allow a homebound student to remain engaged in classroom learning.”
The department suggested that states and districts reevaluating their ed tech policies should:
- Clarify differences between policies on addressing recreational technology use and those overseeing instructional technology.
- Examine ed tech based on a tool’s demonstrated learning outcomes and instructional value instead of just screen time.
- Look for evidence of effectiveness and positive outcomes when considering ed tech procurement and renewals.
- Create processes for reviewing the implementation and effects of ed tech tools to ensure those investments are meeting institutional goals.
- Support professional development focused on helping teachers integrate technology effectively in instruction.
Meanwhile, other federal agencies under the Trump administration have already started weighing in on students’ screen time use.
The Federal Communications Commission has cited school screen time debates as it considers making sweeping changes or even eliminating the federal E-rate program, which helps connect schools to affordable internet services. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also declared harmful screen use by children and teens to be a “public health concern” in a May surgeon general’s advisory.
