This major school district just voted to ditch screens and go back to pen and paper

Los Angeles just became the first major school district to put limits on screen time at school. 

The resolution, which was brought by Nick Melvoin, a concerned parent, passed 6-0 with one recusal. Now, screens in schools will no longer be a free-for-all. The district will have to create policies around screen time based on both grade level and subject.

The resolution will also prohibit screens in first grade and below, bans screen time at recess for middle and elementary schoolers, and will restrict access to YouTube in class. Additionally, it will make clear to parents how they can go about opting out of using screens at school. 

Screen time is part of most children’s home lives, but in recent years, especially since the pandemic, it’s become part of their daily school day, too — even early on in their education. That means that devices like laptops and iPads are typical for elementary school aged kids. Digital teaching tools, like Google Classroom, Kahoot, and Clover, are also commonplace.

However, many parents feel that their children spend enough time on screens while outside of school. They want to see a return to pencils and paper in school. That’s true for Nick Melvoin, a board member who introduced the resolution in LA. Melvoin says devices that children used to continue learning while schools were closed were a “lifeline” but that in 2026, it’s no longer necessary to have kids depending on them in school.

“I believe that we have the opportunity to lead the nation, to establish comprehensive, developmentally grounded screen-time limits that puts students before screens,” Melvoin said at a meeting on Tuesday. “This is not about going backwards. This is about rethinking screen time in schools to make sure we are doing what actually helps students learn best,” he explained.

The vote in LA came after pressure from local parents reached a boiling point. Parents were not only demanding meetings with school administrators and speaking out at public meetings, but they also created a group called Schools Beyond Screens. The group’s mission is for “safe and intentional technology” in schools. 

Currently, upon visiting the site, a message celebrating the reform appears. “Schools Beyond Screens Celebrates the Unanimous Passage of the ‘Using Technology with Intention’ Resolution!'”it reads. “On April 21, LAUSD school board members unanimously passed the ‘Using Technology With Intention’ resolution. It will pave the way for an overhaul of the district’s technology policies, in time for the 2026-2027 school year.”

Anya Meksin, a mother and the deputy director of the group, told NBC News that the reform is “history” and that the group hopes it “will trickle down to the rest of the country very, very quickly.” Meskin adds, “We see this as a big cultural shift into how schools approach technology.” 

While similar actions have been taken in smaller districts, such as Bend, Oregon and Burke County, North Carolina, LA is by far the largest city to restrict screens in the classroom.

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