A coalition of 17 education and library organizations submitted a letter on Jan. 13 to Senate Commerce Committee leaders urging lawmakers to separate educator-guided classroom technology from recreational “screen time” ahead of a Jan. 15 hearing on youth technology use.
The five-page letter addressed Chairman Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Ranking Member Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. The committee’s hearing, titled “Plugged Out: Examining the Impact of Technology on America’s Youth,” is scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m.
“It is important to differentiate between educational screen use and recreational or consumer screen use. In reality, ‘screen time’ is not a single category and should not be evaluated as such,” the letter says.
“Classroom use of digital tools, aligned to curriculum, guided by educators, and governed by locally developed school district privacy and security policies and related state and federal laws, is fundamentally different from a student’s unsupervised or entertainment-based device use,” it adds.
The letter highlights research-backed instructional benefits when technology is used intentionally: more active learning, self-direction, pacing, critical thinking, and collaboration, alongside expanded access for students with disabilities and those lacking home internet. It also points to employer demand for digital and AI-related skills that schools help cultivate.
Instead of blanket bans on screen time, the coalition encourages equipping students to use technology responsibly. It notes that parents, with support from schools, should play a leading role in ensuring children “self-regulate personal screen use outside of school.”
“Rather than efforts to broadly prohibit access to education technology, schools and parents should focus on equipping young people with the skills to use technology responsibly and safely,” the letter states.
Signatories include the Consortium for School Networking; the American Library Association; State Educational Technology Directors Association; Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition; National Education Association; National Association of Elementary School Principals; American Federation of Teachers; and other K-12 and library organizations.
