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LAUSD Approves Classroom Screen Time Limits for 2026–27

The vote signals a shift toward research-based guardrails on student device use in the nation’s second-largest district.

Overview

  • Los Angeles Unified’s board approved the measure Tuesday in a 6-0 vote with one recusal to curb student screen use during the school day.
  • District staff must deliver a detailed, grade- and subject-specific policy by June for rollout in the 2026–27 school year.
  • The framework bars devices for preschool through first grade, restricts use during lunch and recess in elementary and middle school, encourages paper-and-pen work, and contemplates blocking YouTube and certain games.
  • The plan orders audits of education-technology contracts, sets up a process for families to opt out of classroom tech, and calls for tracking and sharing student screen-time data, with accommodations for students who rely on assistive technology still to be defined.
  • Months of organized parent pressure led by the Schools Beyond Screens coalition helped drive the move, which could influence screen-time debates in other districts after years of one-to-one device use and a 2024 cellphone ban in LA schools.