Los Angeles Unified School District announces sweeping plan to reduce classroom screen time
The nation’s second-largest school district voted unanimously to limit screens in class. Here is what the policy would do, and how it fits a wider push in California and beyond.
The Los Angeles Unified School District voted unanimously to develop a new policy limiting classroom screen time, signaling a major shift in how the nation’s second-largest school district approaches technology in schools. The proposal, driven in part by parent advocacy groups concerned about excessive device use, would place stricter boundaries on screen exposure, while still preserving some technology for meaningful educational purposes for older students.
Kelly McKenna joined KTLA 5’s Sunday morning news to discuss how excessive screen-time use in children shapes chronic disease risk, highlighting research linking prolonged screen exposure to disrupted sleep cycles; increased stress; increased sedentary behavior; disruptions to cardiovascular processes, energy conversion, and hormone regulation; and elevated inflammation, all of which contribute to chronic disease development over time.
Key elements of the proposed policy include:
- Daily and weekly screen time limits by grade level
- Eliminating digital device use for students in early education through first grade, with limited exceptions
- Restricting access to YouTube and potentially blocking non-instructional games
- Encouraging shared computer lab use over one-to-one devices for younger elementary students
- Prioritizing educational technology uses such as coding, robotics, and video production over passive screen-based activities
The proposal also comes amid broader momentum in California around limiting student smartphone use in schools. End Chronic Disease is supporting efforts surrounding the state’s AB 1644, which would require schools serving students in transitional kindergarten through eighth grade to adopt policies prohibiting smartphone use during the school day, with the stated goal of creating a “bell-to-bell” restriction model. We are also co-sponsoring AB 2071, a bipartisan California bill that would require middle and high school health classes to include instruction on “digital wellness,” including the physical health effects of excessive screen time and other unhealthy technology habits.
Across the country, End Chronic Disease has also been active in efforts to reduce excessive screen exposure among children, helping advance legislation in states including Kansas and Indiana, where screen-time bills SB 302 and SB 78 have already passed, as well as Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania, where lawmakers are actively pursuing legislative restrictions on cell-phone use in schools.
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This update first appeared in the End Chronic Disease newsletter on May 25, 2026. Reporting on the LAUSD vote: NPR.
