Richardson ISD is implementing new classroom technology guidelines this school year aimed at reducing student screen time and increasing opportunities for hands-on learning. The move follows months of feedback from parents and community members. District leaders announced the changes this summ er as part of a broader initiative called “Technology with Purpose,” which emphasizes using technology to enhance learning rather than replace traditional instruction and teacher-student interaction. Superintendent Tabitha Branum told NBC 5 concerns about screen time emerged repeatedly during conversations with families throughout the spring. “As we evaluate what’s happening in our classrooms, how can we best support learning, one of the areas that we continue to receive feedback, specifically from parents, were concerns around the amount of screen time,” Branum said. The district spent about six months gathering input from parents and assessing existing practices before updating its guidelines. Branum said RISD already had expectations in place for technology use but wanted to provide greater clarity for teachers, students and families ahead of the 2026-27 school year. “We already had some guidelines in place, but we recognized we needed to be a little bit clearer with those guidelines,” she said. The new guidelines include grade-level recommendations for screen use, extended restrictions on YouTube access for secondary students, increased classroom monitoring and transparency, and the elimination of technology as a behavior incentive or indoor recess activity. Branum said she expects many parents will support the changes, though some may want the district to go even further. And she knows some students may have a different reaction, especially when they find YouTube is now blocked unless a teacher provides a specific approved link. “I know I’m gonna get emails from our students saying, please unblock YouTube. But again, we know our students’ frontal lobe is still developing. And having that discipline to not go to YouTube and watch something that is off task can just be hard,” she said. For the district’s youngest students, screen time limits will be especially restrictive. “When you’re talking about our pre-K fours and our kindergarten students, we know how powerful it is for them to be able to write and work with manipulatives hands-on and that they’re experiencing learning,” Branum said. “We wanted to make sure we had very strict guidelines for our littlest learners, where they’re not looking at a screen for more than 10 to 15 minutes a day.” District leaders say the goal is not to remove technology from classrooms but to ensure students are using it in productive ways. “We are constantly looking and researching and trying to understand what adjustments do we need to make. Because [there are] 35,000 kids that are our responsibility,” Branum said. According to RISD, technology should support activities such as creating, collaborating, problem-solving and critical thinking rather than passive content consumption. “We know technology is a tool of the future and we know that it’s incumbent upon us to give our students the skills to know how to use technology, to be creative, to be efficient, to demonstrate outcomes,” Branum said. “But when it’s used passively, just for entertainment, that is not always a productive use, and that can be detrimental.” The district’s approach echoes a growing national conversation about youth screen use and its impact on child development. Dr. Stevie Puckett-Perez, a pediatric psychologist at Children’s Health, said screens became essential during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing children to access education and remain connected to others. But she said many families have struggled to scale back screen use in the years since. “For a lot of families, they’ve had a really hard time shifting gears to putting those screens in the back seat again,” Puckett-Perez said. “And we know more from research now, having looked at some COVID times and the increased use of screen time.” She pointed to research that has found links between increased screen use and a variety of emotional, behavioral and health concerns among children. “In fact, last year, there was a large meta-analysis of almost 300,000 kids across multiple countries, primarily in the U.S., not looking specifically at COVID times, but just screen use in general. And it validated kind of what we all expect and what we know about screens just from observing kids. Is that greater screen use really is linked to more problems,” she said. According to Puckett-Perez, studies have associated heavy screen use with higher rates of anxiety, depression, attention problems, hyperactivity, behavioral issues, sleep disruption and obesity. Elementary-aged children are among the groups most vulnerable to the negative effects, she said. “I think for younger kids, when we think about very young kids, more than half of toddlers and babies touch a screen every day. And it is incredibly common,” Puckett-Perez said. “And what we know in those early years, those very early years, is they really don’t need it at all. Even if it is educational and valuable and doing those kinds of thoughtful educational things, it does not replace conversation with an adult. RISD says the new screen time guidelines as the next step in the district’s ongoing effort to reset instructional expectations and strengthen partnerships with parents following the pandemic. At the same time, Puckett-Perez emphasized that technology itself is not the problem. “Balance is everything. We are not trying to encourage families to avoid screens entirely,” she said. “It’s not just all screens are bad all of the time. Any amount of screen time is going to create issues. Essentially, what kids are accessing matters. How much matters and how matters.” Instead, she encourages families and educators to be intentional about how students use devices and to ensure screen time is not replacing sleep, physical activity, face-to-face social interactions or other important developmental experiences. “Making sure it’s not displacing anything of value, meaning it should not be happening when we should be sleeping, it should not be happening when we’re eating, it shouldn’t be happening in place of interacting or playing outside with other kids, in place of sports or extracurricular activities,” said Puckett-Perez. “Just like we think about it’s important to nourish our bodies with food. Sure, we can have treats and other things that we enjoy, but it’s also we have to balance that out with things that help us grow and nourish us. Same thing with sleep and Same thing with other activities.” RISD officials say the district’s new guidelines are rooted in that same philosophy. “The challenge is finding that balance. I’m a mom — I have three older kids who, technology looked very different for them. And then I have a 12-year-old in which the moms in our neighborhood are having discussions who will be the first one to give them a cell phone because and trying to delay that as long as possible,” Branum said. The district’s new guidelines state that students should learn with technology, not from technology. Leaders also stressed that exceptional teaching and meaningful relationships remain the foundation of classroom learning. “We still want teachers to be their creative self. We just wanna make sure we’re doing it in a way that it’s healthy and in best practice for our kids,” Branum said. She said the district continues to view technology literacy as an essential skill as students prepare for an increasingly digital world shaped by artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. “We hear from our industry partners how important it is that our students have the skills that they need to be successful,” Branum said. “Yes, we have to prepare them for their future, but we have to do it in a way that meets where they are right now,” Branum said. RISD has previously taken steps to limit technology-related distractions. The district was among the first in Texas to remove cellphones from secondary classrooms by requiring students to place devices in locked pouches during the school day. Branum described the new screen time guidelines as the next step in the district’s ongoing effort to reset instructional expectations and strengthen partnerships with parents following the pandemic. “It’s very much a return to big books and students reading lots of tangible, hands-on books. And I have so many teachers that they’re thrilled to see those being delivered to their classrooms,” Branum said. “And then I have a lot of teachers who are like, exemplars for how to use technology in the classroom. And I’ve just reassured them that if they are using technology in that productive way, in a way that really is ensuring our kids are leaving better at the end of the day than when they walked in, that they can continue to do those learning experiences and to communicate and partner with their parents.” RISD plans to continue gathering feedback throughout the school year and adjust as needed. “I would just want all of our parents to know that we love their kids and that we are going to continue to work and become the best district,” Branum said. “We know that our parents trust us with their most important treasure, and we don’t take that lightly.” District officials said additional details about implementation will be shared with families as part of back-to-school communications. Click here to learn more. ...read more read less