Cambridge School Committee Delays Screen Time Ban for Young Students

The Cambridge School Committee has delayed a decision about whether to suspend all screen time for students from pre-kindergarten to second grade. 

During their meeting on Tuesday, April 7, most of the committee members agreed to wait until the superintendent's presentation on the data. The Education Association noted that the findings from the superintendent's analysis are expected to be delivered on May 19.

The Cambridge School Committee and the Cambridge Education Association had been weighing a proposal to limit screen time for students in pre-kindergarten through second grade for the remainder of the school year.

“When screens are used as a babysitter, substituting for something teachers should be doing, there's strong evidence that use as that leads to behavioral problems that we'll be dealing with for years, and we should have zero tolerance for that,” said Elizabeth Hudson, a member of the Cambridge School Committee, in a statement shared with 7NEWS Boston.

Proponents of the limitations cite an American Academy of Pediatrics study on risks of screen time for young children to justify caution and potential behavioral and literacy implications.

The Cambridge Education Association suggested sending the proposal to a subcommittee for study. They argue that suspending screen use at this point in the school year would be challenging without proper planning.

“We are 100% behind the spirit of the motion itself, and this idea that we should be talking about limits on screen time,” said Chris Montero, president of the Cambridge Education Association, in a statement shared with 7NEWS Boston. “What we don't agree with is that this motion would be a hard stop essentially, and a disruption of classrooms in April at the end of the school year, which would be difficult for educators to do well without planning and thinking it through.”

According to 7NEWS, the school district is currently analyzing how screen time is used in classrooms.