Richmond-area schools cut screen time for younger kids
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Some Richmond-area elementary students will spend significantly less time on school-issued screens this year.
Why it matters: After years of debate over in-school phone use, local districts — pushed in part by parents — are turning their attention to school-issued laptops and screen-heavy instruction.
State of play: Chesterfield and Henrico school districts adopted new policies this year limiting how much time their youngest students spend using school-issued Chromebooks and iPads.
- The policies call for elementary school device use to be selective and intentional — and used only to enhance traditional teaching, not as the primary method.
- The changes come after nearly 3,000 local parents signed petitions urging Chesterfield and Henrico school officials to curb classroom technology use, raising concerns that screens were replacing hands-on learning.
- The districts say evolving education research and technology changes also drove the new policies.
Between the lines: Schools dramatically expanded their use of devices and digital instruction during the pandemic, and kept using them after students returned to the classroom.
- Now, some districts are reassessing their reliance on classroom technology.
Zoom in: Beginning this year, Chesterfield K-2 students won't take their school-issued Chromebooks home — and will only use them in school when there's a clear instructional need, per the district.
- Students in grades 3-5 will take the laptops home only when needed and at the principal's discretion.
- The county says it'll instead put more emphasis on teacher-led, hands-on and tactile learning.
Meanwhile, Henrico — which 25 years ago was the first school division in the nation to issue laptops to all its high school students — went further with its new policies, creating a 50-page digital wellness guide that calls for:
- No digital homework for K-5 students — and school-issued devices to stay at school.
- Devices to be closed and put away until a teacher says otherwise for all K-8 students.
- Blocking YouTube access on school devices for K-8 students — and restricting their access to Minecraft Education.
When in school, Henrico recommends specific daily screen-time targets for elementary students, depending on grade.
- Pre-K: 15 mins.
- K: 45 mins.
- 1st: 60 mins.
- 2nd: 75 mins.
- Grades 3-5: 90 mins.
Zoom out: School boards across the country are facing growing backlash over classroom screen use.
- A handful of states have put laws on the books limiting screen time in the classroom this year, with roughly 10 others considering similar legislation.
What we're watching: Virginia may soon be one of them.
- State Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg said last week he plans to introduce a model policy outlining statewide educational tech use ahead of the upcoming General Assembly session, per the Virginia Mercury.