Screens, Focus & Learning

The Institute for Education Innovation stands in support of good educational technology, used intentionally. Our community of district-leader members shares one goal: schools where students can focus, connect, and learn. We support distraction-free schools, and we believe smartphones used for non-educational activities, including consumer social media, have no place in the instructional day. We stand with the educators and families working to restore focus, connection, and joy in the classroom. Technology that works against these goals should be removed from our classrooms.

The 2026 U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on youth screen use, bell-to-bell phone restrictions now in roughly 40 states, and a measurable decline in students’ sustained reading and attention all point to a real problem. But the harm is concentrated in a particular kind of screen use: passive, consumer, algorithm-driven content built to capture attention rather than build it. This kind of technology must be removed from the classroom.

The goal should not be more technology or less technology. It should be the right technology, for the right purpose, at the right time, under the guidance of an effective teacher. The question is not screens versus no screens. It is consumer technology versus purpose-built educational technology; passive use versus active learning; tools imposed on teachers versus tools that serve them. Purpose-built tools designed with student well-being at the center, evaluated on evidence, and used with teacher judgment are how districts prepare students for their futures. For many students, school is the only place they will gain that experience.

We oppose a one-size-fits-all answer. Blanket statewide screen bans, however well-intentioned, can override the educators and leaders who know their students, staff, and communities best. Decisions about when and how technology is used belong close to students, guided by local judgment rather than a single mandate.

• Distinguishing our work with edtech clearly from consumer platforms and the attention economy.
• Supporting local control and district transparency about which tools are used, and why.
• Matching technology to age and purpose: teacher-led and foundational for our youngest learners, and responsible, real-world use for older students preparing for college and career.
• Preparing students for the careers of the future by ensuring they develop fluency with digital and AI tools.
• Honoring family opt-outs and age-appropriate limits, and strengthening the home–school connection.
• Protecting student data privacy and building educator data literacy — taking care with high-stakes data decisions and rigorously monitoring the information that flows to and from tech platforms, to ensure compliance with federal and state law.
• Working to close the digital divide, not widen it. Blanket bans will disproportionately and negatively affect students from less wealthy families, who are less likely to have access to educational technology.
• Holding ourselves to evidence of learning impact, not engagement metrics, and committing to deploy tools that lighten the load on teachers rather than adding one more thing.

This is a position grounded in curiosity, connection, courage, and human interaction — taken by a group of leaders who believe all students deserve an education that opens up every possible opportunity for them.