As one-to-one devices spread across U.S. classrooms after pandemic funding and virtual learning, some legislators and education advocates are pushing new “safe schools” rules—seeking limits on edtech use, stronger certification, and opt-outs for younger studen
When Kim Whitman looks back to 2015. she remembers a specific moment: the first time her son’s kindergarten class rolled out a one-to-one device program. handing an electronic tablet to every child. The plan wasn’t just for school. Each night, students were required to bring the device home to charge it.
For Whitman, that charging routine brought a different reality. “My children never had a device and suddenly they had these iPads at home I had to manage. ” says Whitman. now the co-lead for the Distraction-Free Schools Policy Project. She speaks from the place where classroom decisions met family life—where a learning initiative also became a daily test of attention.
More than a decade later. personal devices are deeply embedded in some classrooms. and the questions Whitman raised from her kitchen table have moved into state capitols. In the U.S. one-to-one device adoption accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. fueled by an influx of federal dollars and a rapid shift toward virtual schooling. Now. some experts and policymakers argue the rush created a “toothpaste-out-of-the-tube” situation: schools committed to devices before fully working through the consequences.
“The logistical reasons and necessity through the pandemic. we sort of went all in — we had to. ” says Kate Blocker. director of research and programs at Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development. She points to the promise digital tools were sold with—improving student learning and increasing teacher and administration efficiency—then presses on the real question now being asked: “Are we seeing those benefits?”.
For Angela Duckworth. a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and leader in the educational psychology sector. the concern is less about banning technology than about removing temptation from the classroom environment. She uses a blunt analogy: “You don’t tell smokers to sit next to a pack of cigarettes,” she says. “You tell them to remove yourself from temptation.”.
screen-free schools one-to-one devices edtech regulation safe schools technology distraction-free student devices laptop distractions parental opt-out AI in education digital media and child development
So are they banning iPads now or just “limiting” them? Either way teachers will still be blamed lol.
I don’t get why it’s so hard to just let parents decide. Like, if I pay taxes and my kid needs the device for school work, why is someone in a capitol telling me no?
They keep saying “screen-free” but it sounds like they’re talking about the kids taking the tablets home? That part seems wild. Also, if it was rushed during COVID, then wasn’t the whole point to keep learning going? Idk.
This is basically just another way to sneak censorship into schools. Like, “distraction-free” is code for controlling what kids can learn on the internet. And meanwhile they act like the device is the problem, not the fact that teachers are understaffed and nobody monitors anything.