Conroe ISD SHAC to study classroom device use after trustee request; co‑chairs will consolidate district data requests

The Conroe ISD School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) met without a quorum but moved forward with discussion about a request from Trustee Lindsey Dawson to examine how much classroom time students spend using devices and what research says about healthy usage by grade level.

The request, read into the record by the SHAC co‑chair, asked in part: “How much time are we using devices to teach during the day by elementary, intermediate, junior high, and high schools? And what does the research say about how much time is appropriate and healthy by grade level?” The co‑chair said the committee could study the question but noted limited bandwidth and that the group cannot formally vote on new motions without quorum.

Tricia Monticello Kieveland, a SHAC member, asked whether the topic fits an existing subcommittee or requires a new work group. Carrie, who has researched the topic, recommended CommonSenseMedia.org as a research source; Carrie said, “they have a lot of research on school media and also for regular home” and noted she had attended training with the organization.

Members debated whether the inquiry is primarily instructional — measuring how devices are used as educational tools and tied to outcomes — or a mental‑health concern about screen addiction. One member said the question is “an academic question versus a mental health question” and cautioned that measuring device time could be complicated because usage varies by class, subject and testing schedules.

SHAC members discussed practical next steps: collecting research, framing specific survey questions, and possibly starting a short‑timeline work group in January to pilot a parent/student/teacher survey. Kristen Brown said the committee should determine “what will we do with it” before collecting data, because curriculum or instructional practice may not be easily changed by SHAC recommendations.

Because the SHAC has multiple concurrent information requests, the co‑chairs proposed to consolidate subcommittee requests into a single packet and forward it monthly to the board president for approval and then to the district for data collection. The co‑chair said he will “follow up with Trustee Dawson and get more clarification” and return the clarified request to the SHAC at its next meeting.

The committee did not take any formal votes during the session because it lacked a quorum; the discussion produced agreed next steps but no binding actions.