Las Virgenes Unified School District wants to cap weekly device time for elementary students. A revised proposal goes to the board Tuesday, Sept. 29.
The district's draft policy, presented at a Sept. 15 Board of Education meeting, would limit average weekly screen time to 50 minutes for first graders, 100 minutes for grades 2–3 and 150 minutes for grades 4–5, The Acorn reported. The elementary caps would take effect Jan. 1, 2027, to allow time for teacher input.
Several restrictions are already in place. At the start of the current school year, the district blocked student access to YouTube except for educational or documentary content. Streaming services, gaming and social media apps were also cut off. Generative AI is now disabled by default on district devices, and the district placed a moratorium on approving new digital applications or AI tools until a formal review process is finalized.
The policy affects families across the district's 15 schools, including White Oak Elementary in Westlake Village. Las Virgenes Unified serves roughly 10,000 students in Agoura Hills, Bell Canyon, Calabasas, Hidden Hills and Westlake Village.
Board members said they want the policy to go further than staff proposed. Board member Dallas Lawrence called for a complete ban on devices in transitional kindergarten and kindergarten and pushed for screen time limits in middle and high school.
"We have allowed things to seep into our classrooms that are not proven, where the science isn't there, and in fact the science is actually in the opposite direction," Lawrence said at the Sept. 15 meeting.
Board member Angela Cutbill said she wants to "pull the headphones off the 5-year-old." Board member Alan Lazar said the era of tech companies entering schools to find future customers is over.
Board President Lesli Stein said she supports guardrails that reduce unnecessary screen time while preserving teachers' ability to use technology when it supports learning. Trustee Linda Menges backed what she called appropriate guardrails and said professional development is needed to help teachers understand digital wellness.
Under the draft rules, technology may be used only as an instructional tool, not as a reward or during free time. Teachers can now monitor all student Chromebook activity, and district devices generate weekly reports tracking screen time. High school students who bring their own computers must log on to a filtered student network.
LVUSD teacher Ed Edsall, speaking during public comment at the Sept. 15 meeting, called the effects of AI in education unsettling. Sandra Pope, a former district teacher and current school board candidate, apologized for a published letter she said was dismissive of parents' technology concerns. Pope asked the board to adopt a two-year policy while committees study the issue.
A parent advocacy group with more than 600 Las Virgenes parents has been organizing around the issue, according to a Sept. 10 letter published in The Acorn.
No vote has been announced for the Sept. 29 meeting.
