How Much Is Too Much? Some Kansas School Districts Limit Screen Time

WICHITA, Kansas — When schools closed and kids were forced to learn remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many districts in Kansas tapped federal emergency technology funds to buy more laptops and other internet-connected devices.

Four years later, concerns about too much screen time have caused some schools to reconsider the value of computers in classrooms.

“We know technology is the future,” Wichita Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld said. “But we also know it may not be the best fit for them to put in the hours.”

The Kansas State Board of Education recently convened a task force to address cellphones and other devices in classrooms. The group will develop policy recommendations and present them to the board later this year.

“I think everyone recognizes the harmful effects of smartphones on our kids,” said Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson. “The question is, what are we as parents, educators and elected officials willing to do about it? I hope we start finding answers soon.”

Wichita, the state’s largest school district, announced it will limit technology use in elementary schools this school year and ban it entirely in preschool and kindergarten classes.

Part of the reason is money. When the pandemic hit in 2020, Wichita spent more than $24 million in federal COVID-relief money to buy a laptop or tablet for every student in the district. Now, those devices are no longer under warranty and too expensive to replace.

But Rob Dickson, the district’s chief information officer, said money isn’t the only concern. New research shows that too much screen time — and unrestricted access to social media — can affect children’s social and emotional development and can lead to higher rates of aggression and anxiety.

In June, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for social media apps to be given warning labels similar to those used for tobacco, reminding people that these platforms are harming young people, especially teenagers.

“Many parents of primary and secondary school children … have had some concerns about the amount of time our children are spending in front of screens,” Dickson said.

“The pandemic has really accelerated us to one-to-one devices. But acceleration is not necessarily good if you can’t introduce the right digital citizenship and digital literacy, both for staff and students.”

Noel Lucero, a kindergarten teacher at Jackson Elementary School in Wichita, says screens have become a normal part of life, even for young children.

“When you see kids, if you’re in the grocery store and they’re in a cart, they have an iPhone,” she said. “Or if they’re in a car and they’re driving from place to place, kids have a phone or an iPad.”

Lucero said she understands that parents sometimes use devices to keep their children entertained while they complete tasks. But that limits face-to-face conversations and other educational activities.

As she says, over the last two decades she has noticed changes in her students.

“Their use of language has declined. Their ability to have … back-and-forth conversations,” she said. “Emotion regulation, all those kinds of things.”

Some students need to learn how to use traditional toys like blocks, and some aren’t used to playing outside, Lucero said. Others don’t have the fine motor skills to hold a pencil or use scissors, and they get frustrated quickly.

“They are more likely to say, ‘I’ve had enough,’ and just give up,” she said.

Lucero said she doesn’t use technology much in class, so she welcomed Wichita County’s order to phase out tablets and other devices.

However, not all teachers think this way.

Valerie Wills, a kindergarten teacher at Gammon Elementary School in Wichita, says she panicked a little when she learned her students would no longer have tablets to work on.

“I was really upset and disappointed because with small groups we rely on technology a lot and this is going to be really difficult,” Wills said.

In her classroom, Wills creates centers where students cycle through different activities. While she’s working with three or four students for intensive math or reading lessons, the others use iPads with headphones for independent learning.

She added that some students particularly enjoy interactive computer games because they can practice letter sounds or solve math problems without being under pressure from classmates.

“Nobody’s judging them. It’s just them and the iPad, so if they made a mistake, it was OK,” Wills said. “And they knew if they needed help, they could just raise their hand and I’d come over and we’d talk it through.”

Last year, her kindergartners did research projects using an online program called PebbleGo. They looked for different animals, learned about their habitats and presented the information to their classmates and parents.

Without technology — or another teacher in the classroom to help with small-group instruction — Wills said it will be difficult to keep kids focused and learning.

“The pendulum has swung too far the other way,” she said. “I’m just worried about how I’m going to meet my children’s needs.”

Wichita school leaders said their abrupt withdrawal of technology from elementary grades was primarily a budget decision. There simply aren’t enough devices and software licenses to equip every elementary classroom. But it mirrors efforts in other states.

In Minnesota, students in publicly funded early childhood classrooms are not allowed to use a screen without teacher involvement. A 2022 law aims to ensure that screen use in the classroom is active and engaging.

For older students, at least three states — Florida, Indiana and South Carolina — have banned cellphones in schools, and others are considering nationwide cellphone and social media policies.

“This is going to be a time where we experiment and figure out where it works and where it doesn’t,” said Dickson, Wichita’s chief technology officer. “And we’re going to try to fill those gaps as much as we can.”

Wichita School Board President Stan Reeser says he’s heard from many parents who want the district to limit screen time. But he also knows it’s an abrupt change for teachers from what they’ve been preaching and promoting for decades.

In his opinion, the trick will be to find a balance between technology and the well-being of students and not go overboard.

“The board definitely wants to reach out to teachers and get their input,” Reeser said. “Has this created any problems we didn’t anticipate?”

Suzanne Perez covers education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @SuzPerezICT.

Kansas News Service is a collaboration between KMUW, KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and High Plains Public Radio focusing on health, the social determinants of health and their relationship to public policy.

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