Dear Superintendent Hepburn and School Board Members,
We are writing to urge Broward County Public Schools to take bold action on the growing crisis of excessive screen time in our schools.
Children in America already spend an average of nine hours per day on screens outside of school. Rather than counterbalancing this trend, many districts have unintentionally compounded it through unchecked use of classroom devices, 1:1 device programs, and EdTech platforms with little accountability. The American Academy of Pediatrics has linked excessive screen time to vision problems, anxiety, depression, addictive behavior, reduced attention span, and lower academic achievement. This is not a future risk. It is happening to our children now.
Our children have only one childhood, and much of their school day is now shaped by screens. Broward families deserve to know how much time students spend on district devices, which programs require that time, and whether those programs improve learning. We urge BCPS to adopt a public screen-time policy that protects hands-on learning, teacher judgment, student privacy, and meaningful parental choice.
Our Requests
We urge Broward County Public Schools to adopt a comprehensive screen time policy that includes the following:
1. Eliminate devices for the youngest students. Remove digital devices from early education through 2nd grade classrooms, except where required for mandated state testing and computer science standards. Children at this stage of development need hands-on, in-person learning experiences above all else.
2. Eliminate 1:1 device programs in elementary and middle school. Transition to shared laptop carts and computer labs for grades 3-8. Permanent 1:1 device assignment for children is not supported by research and contributes to excessive cumulative screen exposure. Allow device libraries for secondary students to checkout laptops, if they need access at home.
3. Set specific, enforceable screen time limits by grade level. Establish clear daily and weekly maximums for student screen use on district devices, with less screen time for younger students. Screen time should be prioritized only when it provides educational value that cannot be replicated offline.
4. Block non-educational platforms on district devices. Prohibit student access to YouTube, social media, and non-instructional gaming platforms like Roblox during the school day. Teachers may retain the ability to use appropriate video content for instruction, but unsupervised student access has no place in the classroom.
5. Ban device use during unstructured time. Prohibit device use during passing periods, lunch, and recess for elementary and middle school students. These moments of unstructured time are critical for social development and should not be dominated by screens.
6. Modernize the 1:1 Laptop/Software/AI Opt-In and Opt-Out Framework. Provide true informed consent and allow opt out of supplementary software and hardware. Create clear, workable pathways for parents and students who wish to opt out of device-based instruction, without penalty or reprisal, providing low-tech alternatives.
7. Encourage paper, physical textbooks, and off-screen homework. Research consistently shows better comprehension and retention with print materials. Policies should actively encourage analog alternatives, especially for homework at the elementary and middle school level.
8. Evaluate all EdTech contracts for educational value and student data privacy, while regularly auditing to ensure vendor compliance. Require independent review of EdTech products. Do not rely solely on vendor-supplied research. Ensure student data is protected and that contracts include accountability mechanisms.
9. Reduce excessive and repetitive digital testing. Limit classroom assessments to those that serve a clear instructional purpose, eliminate redundant testing across platforms, and protect time for teacher-led instruction and meaningful learning. Allow teachers to use paper-based assessments and their professional judgment to evaluate student progress.
10. Disable student access to any generative AI tools, apps, websites, and software on all school-issued devices until this technology has been proven safe, legal, and effective, and until age-appropriate guidelines are established.
11. Prohibit public digital gamification and reward systems. No leader boards, data chats, school contests based on engagement or test scores. Screen time should also not be used as a reward, incentive, or behavioral reinforcement for students. No lobbying should be allowed by non-registered lobbyists in our schools.
12. Prioritize teacher compensation. Support high quality professional development and codify the Right to Teacher Autonomy for instructional mediums and classroom testing. Technology should not replace teachers, especially in priority on BCPS’s budget.
13. Adhere to Florida’s constitutional standards governing maximum student capacity per classroom. Monetary consequences should not drive adherence to policy. That includes transparency in BCPS’s decision to use one-to-one technology and cluster classrooms to increase class sizes, overburdening our students and teachers, despite the constant reassurances that technology does not replace teachers.
14. Require explicit parental consent for each app that collects data, per FTC guidelines on COPPA and SOPIPA. Reduce the amount of all collected Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
15. Protect recess and physical education time. Ensure every student receives all recess and physical education required by Florida law, providing opportunities for movement, play, and social connection.
16. Require independent health and child-development expertise in school technology decisions. Include qualified experts in pediatric medicine, neuroscience, psychology, and vision health in the development and ongoing review of district technology policies. Expert recommendations should inform age-appropriate screen-time limits and safeguards that protect students’ physical health, mental well-being, and development, and should be made publicly available.
As parents in Broward County Public Schools, we have seen firsthand how screens affect our children's ability to focus, connect with their peers, and engage in meaningful learning. In Broward County, families have repeatedly raised concerns about the expanding use of programs such as i-Ready, the lack of publicly available screen-time data by grade level and program, and the absence of a clear, meaningful opt-out process. Parents deserve transparency about how much instructional time children spend on screens and assurance that technology supports—not replaces—responsive teaching, books, writing, discussion, hands-on learning, and meaningful interaction with teachers and classmates.
The science is clear. The public consensus is growing. LAUSD has shown it can be done. We respectfully urge BCPS to act now to protect the health, development, and academic success of our children.
Sincerely,
The undersigned
