Schools rethink screens as LAUSD scales back device programs

Public schools’ rush to give every student a laptop is giving way to a digital reckoning: districts like Los Angeles Unified are rolling back device programs for younger students, instituting screen-time limits, banning YouTube on school devices, and moving toward in-class access only, amid parent activism and concerns that devices distract more than educate. The shift follows pandemic-era device proliferation, with bills and advisories at state and federal levels prompting debates about whether edtech truly improves learning or simply hooks students to screens and drives up costs.