Santa Barbara Unified School Board Postpones Vote on Screen-Time Limits for Students

The Santa Barbara Unified School Board was primed to adopt a new “tech with intent” resolution at its meeting on Tuesday — and then it didn’t.  

Parents have been pushing for the school district to adopt stricter regulations on students’ iPad use, citing that excessive use harms their children’s development and education. They want a “reset” of technology-centered classrooms that emerged as a result of the pandemic.  

They have pushed for a resolution similar to that adopted by Los Angeles Unified (LAUSD), which limits students’ screen time. 

On Tuesday, LAUSD passed a policy banning screen time for early learners (2nd grade and below) and establishing screen time limits per grade, setting the mark nationwide.

The resolution presented to the SBUSD school board on Tuesday included a commitment to ongoing practices and policies “that balance the benefits of instructional technology with the harms and risks of excessive screen use.” 

Those harms and risks include increased anxiety and depression, reduced attention span, and a higher risk for obesity, studies show. 

The resolution listed “guiding principles,” such as classrooms should prioritize human connection over screen time and students benefit from non-digital social interaction. 

An initial screen use policy outlined in the resolution considered eliminating digital devices for early learners; preventing iPads from being the “default” learning method; recommending daily or weekly screen time limits; blocking personal Apple ID logins on school iPads; and exploring the development of opt-out procedures for school devices, among other initiatives. 

Additionally, the resolution proposed an eventual “rollout timeline” for staff, a review of tech contracts and systems to determine how to track and report student device use, and a third-party technology security audit.

Three parents involved in the district’s Balanced Learning and Technology task force — which secured a ban on YouTube at junior highs and high schools earlier this month — spoke at the meeting. They applauded the resolution, but stressed that it involves more than just policy on paper. 

“We are grateful for the work of the district, the staff, teachers, and board up until this point, but we want to urge much of the important work remains,” said parent Kathryn Birch. “We owe it to the students and their education.” 

Boardmember Sunita Beall, who is on the tech committee, said that the language of the resolution remained unclear, in terms of how and when proposed actions would take place. She said some things should happen sooner than planned, privacy protections should be more specifically addressed, and more guidance was needed for teachers, students, and parents. 

“I feel like this is like a curriculum change in that we have to be very clear about what we’re going to do now, how we’re going to do it, and what’s going to happen later,” Beall said. “It really is going to help us make a lot of decisions, so it has to be extremely clear, just like an implementation plan.”

She proposed refining the resolution further and bringing it back with a definitive plan and clearer language.  

Other boardmembers agreed with strengthening the resolution, and suggested using LAUSD’s tech policy as a North Star, while tailoring it to the smaller SBUSD. The board voted unanimously to postpone adoption of the resolution following refinement of the proposals with the community.  

“Los Angeles has done an awful lot of work for us,” said parent Ali Bjerke, who works in tech. “We should follow their lead. There’s no reason that our children don’t deserve the best.”

Boardmember Gabe Escobedo wanted to ensure that the work around regulating students’ tech use was going to continue in parallel with refining the resolution. 

“Exactly,” responded District Chief Operating Officer Steve Venz, who presented the resolution. “We have to.” 

Rhonda DuPar, one of the parents who spoke at the meeting, told the Independent afterward that she would have liked to see the district adopt the resolution first and then add teeth. But all three parents said they were reassured about what Venz said about the work not stopping.  

“They want to strengthen it, which is fantastic,” Birch said. “It just remains to be seen how that is carried out; we don’t want it to be pushed down the line.”