Los Angeles Unified bans screen time before second grade under new policy

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The Los Angeles Unified School District approved a revised plan to reduce screen time at Tuesday’s school board meeting. 

Under the policy — which has been revised since the May draft and incorporates last-minute amendments — screen time will be capped based on grade level. The caps include screen time for homework, and parents can opt their children out of bringing a device home. 

• Students in early education, kindergarten and first grade are banned from screen time
• Zero to 20 minutes daily, or 100 minutes weekly, for second and third grade students
• Zero to 30 minutes, or 150 minutes weekly, for students in fourth and fifth grade 
• Zero to 60 minutes per subject each week for students in sixth through eighth grade, with a cap of 360 minutes weekly 
• Zero to 90 minutes per subject per week for students in ninth through 12th grade, with a cap of 600 minutes weekly

Exceptions will be made for some classes that require more screen use, such as computer science or graphic design. And at elementary schools, laptop carts have been encouraged for higher grades.

“It’s about balance,” said Acting Superintendent Andrés Chait at Tuesday’s meeting. “It’s never been about none of this or all of that, or being in one polarity. … It’s really just about achieving that healthy balance for our students of using technology in a thoughtful way that actually increases critical thinking skills, but not over saturating it.”

Additional revisions were made through amendments to incorporate more family and student feedback as the policy is implemented. 

The guidelines will go into effect during the coming school year, beginning in July and August with early education through first grade. Second to fifth graders will have their caps implemented in November, and guidelines for sixth through 12th graders will be introduced in January. 

The policy, which also blocks streaming and some gaming platforms, will be updated each year.

“The process of bringing this policy into existence has restored my faith in democracy. A year and a half ago, I began to sense there was something deeply wrong about the level of big tech influence in my children’s school. I gathered some allies, and we came to you, our elected representatives, to talk about how to fix this problem,” said Lila Byock, the founder of Schools Beyond Screens, during public comment.

The group believes more steps are needed, including measures to address artificial intelligence.

“And through a lot of back and forth, we’ve arrived at this document, which, although far from perfect, is going to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of students and teachers throughout LAUSD,” Byock said. “Not only that, but we’re setting a new standard for the rest of the country — from Atlanta to D.C. to Houston — they are all trying to do what we’re doing here today.”