Committee passes bill limiting K–5 classroom screen time to one hour per day, sponsor pledges further refinement

Sponsor presented House Bill 43 58 to limit screen time in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade to one hour per school day. The sponsor said the one-hour threshold mirrors measures adopted in several other states and framed the bill as an attempt to return elementary classrooms to more hands-on instruction.

Committee members raised numerous implementation questions: how many states have similar limits, where the clock starts during a school day, whether parents could consent to additional screen time (the sponsor said parental opt-in is not included), how special events (for example, holiday movie screenings) would be handled, and whether keyboarding classes or repeated short uses could exceed the limit. The sponsor acknowledged these logistical concerns and said the committee struck the bill title to allow further work, including possible exemptions for district needs.

Senator Bullard and others urged definitions for "screen time," clarity on who is responsible for tracking it and how brief uses would be counted; sponsor said she received many teacher messages urging help on this issue and expressed a preference for more tactile classroom time.

After debate, the committee voted 8–0 to pass the bill from committee. Sponsor and members said implementation details, definitions and possible exemptions would be worked on before floor consideration.