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LAUSD unveils draft screen‑time limits and seeks public input; tech procurement planned for monitoring and classroom management
Summary
District staff presented a draft screen‑time policy that phases in limits (zero for early grades, 20–30 minutes for grades 2–5, higher caps for secondary), while CIO staff proposed procurement of device‑level filtering and monitoring tools and laptop carts to implement the policy.
District instructional and technology leaders presented a draft screen‑time policy to the Board’s Committee of the Whole on May 20 that would phase limits into classrooms over the 2026‑27 year and require new technical tools and training.
Chief Academic Officer Dr. Francis Bayas said the policy is grounded in a literature review and stakeholder listening sessions. The draft sets a phased schedule: beginning August 2026, early education through first grade would have zero scheduled screen minutes in day‑to‑day instruction (with devices available for assessments and IEP accommodations); by November 2026, grades 2–5 would be limited to 20–30 minutes per day; and the district would phase middle and high school guidelines (district staff proposed a 120‑minute maximum for grades 6–8 and up to 180 minutes for grades 9–12, to be implemented in early 2027).
Interim Chief Information Officer Douglas Lee explained that implementing the policy will require improved network and device‑level filtering, a classroom management feature to allow teachers to temporarily whitelist sites for instruction, and a procurement of a monitoring/analytics tool and laptop carts for K‑5 classrooms. Staff said an initial procurement estimate seeks roughly 3,100 laptop carts for elementary classrooms; staff provided a preliminary unit‑price estimate of about $1,300 per cart (cart holds 30–36 devices) and said exact pricing will be determined in solicitation.
Board members raised concerns about enforcement at secondary schools (how to divide minutes across multiple periods and subject areas), parent opt‑in/opt‑out mechanics for apps such as YouTube, how I‑Ready and other adaptive learning platforms fit the policy and equity for take‑home devices. Staff described a planned parent portal opt‑in structure grouped by app categories and said more details on curriculum, digital literacy training, and the AI framework would be released publicly before the end of the school year.
What’s next: staff will continue stakeholder engagement (including teacher, student and parent input), finalize procurement requirements for the monitoring and classroom management tool, and return to the board with refined policy language and implementation resources for vote later in the summer.
