Should there be more restrictions when it comes to screen time in New York City public schools?
Some city council leaders are calling for the return of more pencil-and-paper learning in the classroom.
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Should there be more restrictions when it comes to screen time in New York City public schools? That is what the New York City Council is debating.
Some city council leaders are calling for the return of more pencil-and-paper learning in the classroom.
On Tuesday, the Education Committee and the Committee on Investigations and Oversight held a hearing on the use of screens in schools as concerns grow over distractions from school-issued devices like Chromebooks, iPads and applications like YouTube.
"I want to understand exactly how [the Department of Education] views the problem of and the presence of EdTech in the classroom, how they are protecting students' data from all of these apps that are sharing information with these billion-dollar companies," said Sheker Krishnan, City councilmember and chair of the Council's Committee on Oversight and Investigations.
Councilmember Krishnan and Education Chair Eric Dinowitz are both parents, taking the issue with technology in the classroom personally. They are pushing for several changes, including a ban on one-to-one devices for students in grades K through 5 both in school and at home. They also want restrictions on YouTube, an end to some gamified learning tools, along with additional guidance and training for teachers.
"My push in the City Council is to make sure that we have mandates in place, mandates that ban student-led YouTube. Our children should not be streaming content and have access to millions of videos while in class," said Krishnan.
The Department of Education and Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently scaled back the initial artificial intelligence guidance playbook on how it can be used in schools on Sept. 2, putting a one-year pause on the technology for kids in K through eighth grade. High schoolers are allowed limited use under strict supervision.
There are also new recommendations for screen time in the classroom based on age.
"If we are going to be using digital devices, it needs to be intentional, active. We don’t want to see kids on a one-to-one device… we want it to be intentional that this is important to the learning target," said Danielle Giunta, first deputy chancellor of NYC Public Schools.
The state's bell-to-bell cell phone ban took effect in schools statewide last year. Gov. Kathy Hochul says she is keeping a close eye on the developments.
“I'll be watching closely to what the city of New York does but absolutely contemplating what we're going to do next year," Hochul said, "I'm looking at it as a statewide approach.”
The DOE says it is currently developing a framework to evaluate the benefits and impact of AI technology in the classroom through five pilot programs in high schools. Officials say the criteria they will use to measure success and the impact on students should be available sometime by November.
