{"id":347806,"date":"2026-09-15T23:26:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T23:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/347806\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T23:26:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T23:26:09","slug":"nyc-student-screen-time-restrictions-dont-go-far-enough-council-members","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/347806\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC student screen-time restrictions don\u2019t go far enough: Council members"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amid a reckoning on digital devices in the classroom, the New York City Council called for further reforms to reduce screen time in public schools<\/a> during a hearing Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Mayor Mamdani unveiled a sweeping education technology policy<\/a>, including a one-year ban on artificial intelligence until high school and devices like Chromebooks for each student through second grade. Local officials also recommended daily screen-time limits of 30 minutes for grades 3 to 5, and 45 minutes in middle schools.<\/p>\n

It was the second major tech reform to hit local classrooms since the COVID-19 pandemic supercharged children\u2019s reliance on technology: Gov. Hochul\u2019s school cell phone ban took effect statewide last school year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought we were sending our kids back (after the pandemic), and the laptops were going to close,\u201d said Danielle Giunta, the first deputy chancellor of the public schools. She said the current moment \u2014 the national debate, emerging research and public feedback \u2014 has led school leaders to take a closer look at the rapid expansion of education technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a seismic shift,\u201d said Giunta, acknowledging that schools are \u201cso entangled\u201d in the use of digital devices.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the hearing, local lawmakers and advocates previewed their ideas for improving the policy during a rally at City Hall Park.<\/p>\n

\"CityCity Council members, including Shekar Krishnan (pictured) and Speaker Julie Menin, rally before an oversight hearing on screen time in New York City public schools on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (Cayla Bamberger \/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the problem is, it\u2019s baked into the system,\u201d Council Speaker Julie Menin (D-Manhattan) said at the rally. \u201cOur students are taking standardized tests online, and so they have to prepare for them that way, as well. And even for homework, students use digital platforms to submit it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, look, we know that a limited dose of digital tools can be helpful,\u201d Menin added. \u201cBut too much screen time comes with severe consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Council members, led by Shekar Krishnan (D-Queens) and Eric Dinowitz (D-Bronx), said the ban on individual screen time should be extended through fifth grade and prohibit elementary students from taking home the school-issued device. (Group screen time, such as the use of a smart board by a teacher, is not covered by the policy.)<\/p>\n

The lawmakers also called on the public schools to return digital tests to pencil and paper, and help them push the New York State Education Department to ditch computer-based exams, too<\/a>. (Digital assessments are exempt from the restrictions.) The use of educational video games and YouTube should be restricted, as well, the two councilmen said.<\/p>\n

As for YouTube, restrictions that prevent students from logging into the video-sharing platform took effect last Wednesday before the first day of school, school officials revealed during the hearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe couldn\u2019t agree more, actually,\u201d Giunta said. \u201cWe have, in fact, turned off the access to the unfettered version of YouTube and kept sacred just a very limited educational purpose.\u201d (There is an exception for educational videos embedded into Google Classroom for a lesson.)<\/p>\n

Council members also questioned the school system\u2019s move to ban screen time through second grade, but only issue recommendations in the third through eighth grades. Decisions around high school screen time were left up to individual principals.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy concern is different school districts, different schools will implement these recommendations in different ways,\u201d Krishnan said. \u201cThey\u2019re not all on a level playing field.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CityCity Council members, including Shekar Krishnan and Speaker Julie Menin (pictured), rally before an oversight hearing on screen time in New York City public schools on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (Cayla Bamberger \/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

The Council\u2019s push comes after a majority of members joined a call in June for an AI moratorium<\/a>, which would have been two years and extended through high school.<\/p>\n

Instead, the Mamdani administration opted for limited AI use in ninth through 12th grade. Those include career programs and five high school AI pilots, which are expected to launch in November, officials estimated during the hearing. Students in the older grades are also required to complete a short module or longer course in AI literacy, depending on how much of the new technology a given high school plans to use.<\/p>\n

A working group will meet over the next school year to issue a report that will shape the\u00a0policy going forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s clear that both there have been changes to policy made, that you\u2019re listening \u2014 but that there\u2019s also a lot more to do,\u201d Dinowitz said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Amid a reckoning on digital devices in the classroom, the New York City Council called for further reforms…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347807,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[63918,19077,36610,9,56,63,65,64,8229,22910,130107,4693],"class_list":["post-347806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-danielle-giunta","tag-julie-menin","tag-mayor-mamdani","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-nyc-public-schools","tag-shekar-krishnan","tag-student-screen-time","tag-youtube"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}