Editor’s note: This essay is an entry in Fordham’s 2026 Wonkathon, which asked contributors to answer this question: “What rules should govern the uses of digital technology in schools—and who should set them?” Learn more.
When parents don’t understand how and why digital technology is used in schools, there are consequences. Parent concerns about use of technology make headlines across the country. Parents sue over the use of technology in classrooms, as a parent group is doing in D.C. Parents draft petitions to reduce screen time in schools.
Given that, the answer to who should set the rules that govern the uses of digital technology in schools should be: parents. Or to be more precise, schools that are responsive to the needs of students, parents, and caregivers. And the current “techlash” may not actually reflect the needs of families.
Parents generally seem to support the use of technology in schools, but opinions vary.[1] A June 2026 Ed Choice poll showed that 80 percent of parents supported use of laptops in school, but the report characterized feelings as “mixed” since parents were less supportive of the use of artificial intelligence and cell phones in classrooms. A recent Learning Heroes report indicated that their polling showed that “three quarters of parents say, ‘helping students understand how to use new technologies, including AI, responsibly, effectively, and safely’ and ‘using tools/technology as part of their instruction to strengthen your child's learning and development’ are important for extremely/very schools.” Parents are wrestling with the value of engaging with these tools, as well as their drawbacks.
At the same time, some districts, such as Los Angeles, have passed broad, district-wide policies to restrict screen time. States are also starting to get involved, with Utah restricting screen time in kindergarten to third grade, Alabama restricting screen time in child care facilities, preschools, and kindergarten, and more states working on legislation to address digital technology use.
These policies are emerging in response to the “techlash,” and at least partially to genuine parent concerns about technology use. But blanket bans or limits do not reflect the differing needs of school communities and parental preferences.
For instance, one school might have parents who seek to reduce screen time as much as possible. Another school might have received feedback from families that it is important that children use laptops in school because they don’t have them at home. Schools have differing models, approaches, and student populations, with wide-ranging preferences and needs related to digital technology. Even within one school district, some schools might use a model with multiple adults in the classroom, allowing for more small-group instruction, while others might rely more on ed tech programs for intervention.
Since no singular approach to digital technology for schools will work best for every school community, decision-making should be devolved to the lowest levels possible, and with transparency about the rationale for the use of digital technology. Ideally the decision maker will be the school leader, who best understands the needs of that school community, in consultation with parents.
Schools can and should deliberately engage parents in ongoing dialogue about the use of digital technology. That could take place through morning coffee chats, a digital technology parent advisory group, parent-teacher organization meeting discussions, or other venues for parent dialogue. The discussions could be structured or more informal, but the key theme would be to truly understand family interests and preferences with regard to digital technology.
But what if the principal and teachers don’t agree with parents on their views on digital technology and its use in schools? Educators are then provided a wonderful opportunity to educate families about the value of these tools and how they are appropriately managed. Schools should have a theory of change regarding digital technology use, potentially guided by commonsense principles that could be shared with the school community, such as:
- Screen time use will be purposeful and active use will be prioritized over passive use.
- Screen time use will be monitored and audited on a regular basis.
- All students need to gain a basic understanding of how to engage with technology.
- Grade-level and grade-span needs are different, with older students using technology more than younger students.
Even when schools—with parents as partners—take the lead, governments and nonprofits still have a role to play. Federal and state governments can invest in research on and provide education on the effectiveness of different types of digital technology, programs, and applications. They can encourage schools and school districts to focus on evidence to drive decision-making, as a recent U.S. Department of Education “Dear Colleague” letter does.
States and the federal government can also help support data governance for AI and other controls, as advocated for by the EDSAFE AI Alliance, among others. Nonprofits can support school districts and schools with mechanisms to better vet technological tools, through approaches such as outcomes-based contracting.
Most importantly, the federal government and states can incentivize schools and school districts to be radically transparent to families about the use of technology and screen time. School districts can play a key role in sharing the policies of schools within their districts. States could set minimum standards for what schools should share about their digital technology policies. Some requirements could be:
- Share a technology use policy at the start of each school year that includes:
- Acceptable usage by grade spans (elementary, middle school, high school).
- Types of devices to be used by grade span.
- Categories of use (e.g., ed tech tool, assessment).
- Names of specific programs and applications, with rationales for use.
- Limits on use by grade span (if applicable and approach to monitoring limits).
- Approach to vetting new technology to ensure it will support effective instruction.
- Share a regular report on student screen time use, preferably by individual student, or averages by grade, including devices, programs, and applications used, categorized according to types of use.
- Share reports on student progress from technological tools on a weekly or monthly basis. The tools have lots of data on students and their progress, so it should be possible to make those data accessible to parents.
As digital technology itself changes, the use of technology in schools will continue to evolve. Through regular dialogue with families, schools can adapt and develop increasingly nuanced and effective approaches to its use. These approaches, paired with transparency, will serve schools and families better than across-the-board policies.
Digital technology may even support schools in providing transparency on digital technology use. Imagine that your smartphone pings, but instead of showing your weekly screen time report, it shows: “Weekly Report Available. Your child’s school screen time last week was 5 hours. Screen time was as follows: 20 percent assessment, 80 percent independent practice, ed tech tools.” You click to get a breakout of how the time was used and see the graph. You click again and see a progress report from one of the tools on the skills mastered and areas where growth is needed.
Parents aren’t getting that report yet from schools (as far as I know), but they could. Digital technology isn’t going away, but it is time to engage parents, school-by-school, on its use. If we do that, we still will have schools that use technology in different ways. And that’s all right, as long as they serve students better than before.
[1] “Parents” in this piece stands in for “parents and caregivers.”
