Feds float tying kids’ screen time to school subsidies

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration will study the impact of technology and screens on students’ learning and the use of federal dollars to buy that tech, Administrator Arielle Roth announced last week.

During a speech in Washington, D.C., at a luncheon hosted by the nonprofit Free State Foundation think tank, Roth said that while NTIA does not have a formal role in setting education policy, it can review whether federal spending on broadband and technology for education has “fulfilled its mission.”

Roth said NTIA will also convene other federal agencies, experts and others to examine how federal subsidies and connectivity targets “may be pushing schools toward more device use — often without asking whether it helps children learn.”

“We’ve all heard the shiny promises: that ed tech platforms will automatically capture and analyze student data to improve instruction, that gamified apps will transform engagement, that teachers can use tablets for classroom management and improving behavior, and that connected devices will enable ‘anytime, anywhere’ learning,” Roth said in her speech. “Tech companies — chasing taxpayer dollars — say all this and more to close a deal. But our students are worth more than their sales pitch.”

Numerous research studies, including from federal agencies, have suggested a link between screen time for minors and a raft of issues like behavioral problems and stunted social growth. Various studies have suggested that the more children engage with screens, the more likely they are to develop internal issues like anxiety and depression, as well as external issues like hyperactivity or aggression. They may also turn to them as a coping mechanism, studies found.

A task force on children’s online health and safety convened last year by NTIA under former President Joe Biden called for families to “intentionally create screen-free times” while also talking about their children’s social and online media consumption, setting boundaries and checking in on appropriate content. It’s hard work for parents, however: In an October survey, the Pew Research Center found that while parents are keen to manage screen time, 42% said they could do better.

“Technology has a role in education, of course,” Roth said. “But many parents worry, rightly, that their children are being inundated with screens in ways that are indiscriminate and harmful to their development. This concern transcends politics — it cuts across communities, income levels and political affiliations.”

Some schools and parents have fought back against device overreliance, too. States and school districts have banned cellphones in the classroom and on campuses, while groups like Schools Beyond Screens have formed to advocate for an “intentional, science-backed approach to classroom technology.” The latter started in Los Angeles and now has local chapters in two dozen other areas.

Roth said the reliance on devices accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to virtual learning, and said the promise that more technology will close the digital divide needs more study. And she said that the NTIA will study “whether federal spending on broadband and connected technology in the name of education has fulfilled its mission.” This is all in the name of the agency looking to “empower parental control, increase transparency, and promote healthy tech use,” Roth added. 

“A popular, yet rarely challenged, talking point in certain tech and telecom circles is that schools simply need more bandwidth, more devices, more connectivity — for classrooms, homework, or according to some, even school buses (a surprise to anyone who has ever been on a school bus!),” she said. “There’s an oft-repeated claim that more devices and more connectivity will ‘close the homework gap’ and ‘level the playing field’ for low-income students. These assumptions deserve real scrutiny.”

Experts warned, however, that devices cannot be blamed for all of society’s ills. Instead, kids’ screen time is just one factor and must be studied as part of a broader examination of the issues, challenges and opportunities they face, they added.

“We want classrooms that have strong policies critical in laying out the groundwork for a really effective learning environment,” said Merve Lapus, vice president for education outreach and engagement at nonprofit Common Sense Education. “Personal devices not in the classroom, it's a good first step. But if that's the only step, then we're putting all the big issues, all the challenges that we're trying to solve into a single device, and abstinence alone is not going to solve a student's well-being or a student's perspective on the impact of technology or social media in their lives. It just delays it until 3 p.m. when they get out.”

Instead, Lapus said governments should focus on better professional development for teachers and administrators so they can be fully equipped to make the best and most appropriate use of technology in the classroom.

“The reality is, we are shedding educators, so there's a need of just having more educators,” Lapus said. “But if we are going to continue having larger classrooms, our educators are going to need tools to be able to identify where their kids are at and best support them with it. But it should be driven by the educators and not the devices themselves.”

Roth said NTIA can play a role in “protecting childhood” and making sure young people engage in more activities than just those on a screen.

“Children need less time glued to a screen and more time outdoors, for building friendships, and learning to manage anxiety and boredom,” she said. “I admit there is no easy answer here — connectivity is part of modern life, and many students will go on to create extraordinary things using digital skills. But we can do better, and we want to do our part to help.”