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Amid growing calls to scale back screen time in schools, some organizations and education researchers are urging a more nuanced approach that considers the quality and purpose of technology — particularly for students with disabilities who rely on assistive technology for learning, communication and health reasons.
Limiting screen time in schools could hinder access to devices that students with disabilities rely on for individualized services and accommodations, experts say.
Denise Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, said her organization continues to hear that students with disabilities have difficulty accessing the assistive technology they need.
“Any blanket policy runs the risk for further exasperating that challenge and could run afoul of” the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Marshall said in an email to K-12 Dive in April. The access barriers to assistive technology have always been there, she said, but they have “gotten slightly worse” since some districts have implemented policies limiting technology use.
Under IDEA, qualifying students with disabilities are guaranteed access to assistive technology if their individualized education program team determines they would benefit from certain tools, devices and technology.
Assistive technology can be low-tech like a pencil grip, or high-tech like voice recognition software. In addition, students with conditions like diabetes may need devices to monitor their health.
Students with disabilities might also qualify for accommodations and services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Additionally, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all programs and services.
A U.S. Government Accountability Office report released earlier this year found that schools face several hurdles to implementing assistive technology for students. Barriers can include limited knowledge among school staff about how assistive technology can help students with disabilities participate more fully in learning, as well as the rapidly changing technology itself.
About 17% of U.S. students qualified for either IDEA or Section 504 services in 2021-22, according to the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Making exceptions
Several states and districts have begun setting policies to limit screen time in schools as concerns from parents, educators and lawmakers mount on the harm of excessive device use among children. Similar concerns led to widespread bans or limits on cellphone use in schools in recent years.
According to Multistate, a state and local government relations company, two states – Alabama and Utah — enacted school screen limit laws this year, while 12 other states had proposed legislation as of April 2.
Such policies should emphasize exceptions for students with disabilities whose IEP or Section 504 plan gives them the right to access devices or technology, say some advocates and organizations.
“These proposals fail to draw the needed line between technology types,” said a May 27 statement from the Software & Information Industry Association. “If applied bluntly, they would strip away tools students depend on most: assistive technology for students with disabilities, adaptive programs teachers use to identify struggling readers early, and — in many rural and low-income communities — access to high-quality, individualized instruction found nowhere else.”
In May, the surgeon general issued an advisory saying that harmful screen use by youth can cause negative impacts on cognitive and emotional development, physical and metabolic health, educational outcomes and mental health.
But while an accompanying toolkit from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services urges schools to “limit screen use by assigning work in books or on paper whenever possible,” the advisory called for schools to allow exceptions for students who need devices because of an IEP, a Section 504 plan, health monitoring or emergency circumstances.
In an April 23 post, Meredith Coffey, senior policy and operations associate at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, recommended that school systems consider the quality of the technology and practical implications as states and districts debate screen time policies.
“Too much low-quality school screen time is a real problem for students’ academic growth, social development, and digital safety,” Coffey said. “But coarse limits and outright bans on devices risk too many unintended consequences.”
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