Balanced, Purposeful Technology Use During the School Day

School devices meant for learning are being used for movies, YouTube, and even explicit music—ELPS needs clearer rules now. We urge East Lansing Public Schools (ELPS) to adopt clear, enforceable, age-appropriate screen time guidelines so technology supports learning without harming student well-being, attention, privacy, or health.

Why This Is Important

ELPS should not normalize constant screen-based engagement. An intentional policy with age-appropriate and evidence-based restrictions is important for a number of reasons: 

• Support for teachers and learning environments: Teachers are working hard amid shifting tech expectations. When rules vary by classroom, they spend time enforcing instead of teaching. Clear, district-wide guidance would reduce friction and keep the focus on learning.
• Student well-being and attention: Excessive screen time can reduce attention, increase distraction, and hinder deep learning. Research links heavy use of addictive  short-form video platforms to higher anxiety and depression in adolescents.  
• Learning quality and cognitive development: Over-reliance on devices may reduce time spent on foundational skills and offline learning experiences that build stamina, handwriting fluency, and face-to-face collaboration. 
• Physical health: Prolonged screen use is associated with reduced movement and can contribute to eyestrain, poor posture, and less active learning time.
• Safety, privacy, and digital citizenship: Unregulated access increases exposure to cyber bullying risks, data collection concerns, and the use of AI or online tools that students may not be developmentally ready to navigate responsibly.
• Protecting children from an attention-economy business model: Many platforms are designed to maximize engagement and target students. Schools shouldn’t reinforce tools that promote compulsive use or treat students as customers.  
• “Attention-trap” design: Online video and social platforms are optimized for engagement rather than learning making classroom management more difficult.

Why We are Concerned

The lack of clear guidelines and piecemeal solutions has frustrated ELPS parents and underlies the importance of a district-wide solution.  Below is a short list of examples which have been communicated to district and school leadership throughout the year. All of the examples have occurred during instructional times in ELPS buildings and can be documented through screenshots of Google classroom, Securly reports, and Google documents themselves sent to the administration. 

• Students watching 30 minutes (or more) of non-instructional YouTube videos on individual Chromebooks in a single class period, confirmed on the Securely website.
•  Students not completing classwork or rushing work to receive the reward of free time on Chromebooks.
• Students continued access to Chromebooks as a reward, even though parents report that the students’ grades have been negatively impacted in large part because they are not completing their assignments.
• Students circulating  Google Docs  with instructions and workarounds to access restricted games, movies, and other content that have been blocked by ELPS firewalls.
• Students sharing and modifying documents including personal and embarrassing information about other ELPS students.
• Students being contacted through Google classroom and ELPS e-mail by non-ELPS parties and addresses seeking to engage them in conversation, get them to join on-line communities, etc.
• Students countering ELPS firewalls by uploading blocked materials at home and uploading materials to their ELPS Google drive at home.
• Students watching movies and full seasons of television shows during class time that are available online or circulated via Google Docs, including incidents where a student had nightmares after inadvertently viewing portions of a horror movie that a classmate was watching next to the student during class time.
• Students setting up online music streaming accounts during class time using ELPS e-mail addresses and proceeding to listen to music in class on ELPS devices, including music containing explicit and gendered lyrics.
• Students playing on-line casino games, including blackjack and poker, potentially introducing and normalizing online gambling behavior.

Requested Policies and Actions (“Our Asks”)

We ask ELPS to adopt and implement the following measures, with clear expectations, accountability, and communication to families:

1. Developmentally Appropriate Screen-Time Limits (Instructional Use Only): 
   Establish daily/weekly maximums for student device use during the school day, that is differentiated by grade.The policy should prioritize devices as a tool for improving learning.
2. Restrict Non-Instructional Video and Addictive Content by Default: Block or restrict student access to non-instructional video platforms (including YouTube) on school-issued devices during the school day, while allowing teachers to request or temporarily enable access for specific instructional purposes.
3. Restore Balance: Paper, Books, Hands-On Learning, and Discussion: 

   Set expectations that every grade level includes regular offline learning to balance digital instruction.

4. Transparency for Families and Caregivers: Provide families with regular, easy-to-read reports showing student device use by application/site and time of day. Families should also be able to understand what the district expects at each grade level.
5. Protect Younger Learners: Adopt a “low-screen” approach for early elementary grades, emphasizing foundational literacy, numeracy, social development, and play-based or hands-on learning, with limited device use targeted to specific instructional needs.
6. Consistent Acceptable Use Policies (AUP) in Every Building: Standardize and enforce Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) across ELPS buildings so screen time limits, content restrictions, and device expectations are applied consistently, supported by staff training, student instruction, and clear, enforceable consequences.
7. Implementation Plan and Review: Establish a timeline for full implementation in advance of the 2026-2027 school year, define who is accountable for enforcement, and commit to annual review with parent/community input and reporting on progress.

Closing

Technology can enhance learning when used intentionally and in moderation. We are asking ELPS to put student well-being and high-quality learning first by ensuring technology use during the school day is purposeful, limited, age-appropriate, and safe. By signing, we urge ELPS to adopt clear policies that create healthier learning environments and stronger outcomes for all students.

Respectfully,

East Lansing Families for Purposeful Technology Use