More studies are stating that mood problems and lower grades are caused by screen time. With that information, the Virginia Beach City School Board is considering banning Chromebooks from classrooms before second grade, and second graders would only bring them home for remote learning days. In third grade and up, students would transition to 1-to-1 usage and be expected to take Chromebooks home.
“We have been talking about this for quite a while, not just here, but statewide and nationally,” Board Vice Chair Carolyn Weems said during a school board meeting last week. “It’s a very measured, common-sense approach. I do not think it’s drastic at all.”
During that meeting, everyone – teachers, parents and school board members – agreed that students need less time in front of screens. But debate arose from whether a total ban for younger students was the right answer.
What’s the issue?
Most school districts across the U.S. have been using Chromebooks for more than 10 years, with half having given students 1 to1 devices by 2016. The COVID-19 pandemic seemed to solidify the need for remote learning.
With the proliferation of technology came an increase in research on the impact of screen time and digital platforms. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry says too much can lead to sleep problems, lower grades, isolation, mood problems and poor self-image and body issues.
Most states have laws or policies for cellphone use in schools, according to Ballotpedia. Thirty-five states have banned or limited phones in classrooms, including Virginia.
Researchers largely agree that infants younger than 2 should not have any screen time; children 2 to 5 should have a maximum of one hour a day and older students should only have two hours a day, according to a 2025 analysis of existing recommendations.
The Virginia Beach School Board's policy and review committee recommended guidance for elementary students, though Weems implied she’d like to eventually create a policy for older students.
Board members were told that young learners spend about 20 minutes a day on Chromebooks, according to information collected by the district.
If passed at the board’s June 8 meeting, Chromebooks and similar devices would be banned in pre-K, kindergarten and first-grade classrooms. Students could still use computers in the library. Second graders would have 1-to-1 devices, but wouldn’t take them home except for remote learning, such as during a severe weather event. Starting in third grade, students would have Chromebooks that they take home.
The policy would not apply to students who need a device because of a documented learning need.
“We are not saying that we don't believe technology is important, but we are saying it needs to be balanced,” said Weems, who helped author the policy, during the meeting. “For our earliest learners, this policy reflects the desire to have hands-on personal instruction.”
What’s the debate?
Discussion about the policy dominated the board’s May 26 meeting. During an hour of public comment, about a dozen people spoke about the issue. Board members talked about it for nearly an hour and a half.
Everyone agreed that students need less screen time. And a majority of the board seems poised to pass the policy as it’s written. But educators and some school board members argued the policy was an overreach and would limit the resources teachers use.
Heather Thomas, a library media specialist with VBCPS, said ed tech enhances what younger students are learning. She talked about a recent project when kindergarteners researched an animal on a student-friendly site, wrote and drew about their animal and created an animated video. Students then shared their research projects with their families.
“Some may say that they don't want the littles on the Chromebook very long during the school day. They argue that paper-and-pencil tasks are best. Guess what? We agree,” she said during public comment. “Chromebooks can enhance instruction and help teach objectives with apps that do support young learners.”
Instead of a total ban, educators asked the board to consider allowing for limited Chromebook use or in certain situations, such as small-group learning. Teachers could use adaptive learning programs approved by the state to enhance their lesson plans and continue teaching students about digital citizenship.
During the school board discussion, members argued that this was a policy families wanted.. Some board members asked for more language that explicitly explained devices could be used in libraries. A few asked that the policy be shelved until more data could be collected from the district on usage.
Board Member Kimberly Melnyk took the strongest position against passing the policy as it’s written. She said the issue isn’t with the 20 minutes younger students spend on devices in school, but the time they spend in front of screens outside of school. She argued that the policy was an overreach and that implementing a total ban was a “horrible mistake.”
“We are a future-ready school division, and being future-ready means that you have to build, you have to build a solid foundation of brick,” she said during the discussion. “We have to be future-ready, and we cannot kid ourselves that this isn't going to harm our division.”
Superintendent Donald Robertson said his team had been discussing the issue for months. If it passes, he said his team would have the resources and training staff would need for the policy to go into effect at the start of the school year. He also said he was confident teachers would adapt to change.
What he was less sure about, he said, was the impact this change would have on student learning – for better or worse.
“People are very concerned about where we are with screen time. What's less clear is the impact of ed tech,” he said. “I couldn't sit here and say that it's the wrong decision, because there's no data that supports ed tech is the game changer, and if you take it away, kids are going to crumble. I don't believe that they are. We're going to have to play it out.”
