Task force recommends New Mexico education department consider eliminating K-2 screen time

A task force studying the impact of screens in classrooms on Tuesday recommended New Mexico education officials consider issuing guidelines that would eliminate screen time for students from kindergarten through second grade.

The Screen Use Legislative Task Force formed after House Memorial 2, a bill signed last legislative session, tasked the Legislative Education Study Committee with conducting a study on screen time use in elementary classrooms. The task force included LESC analysts, New Mexico Public Education Department officials, district administrators, teachers and students.

The task force’s study cites research conducted by the University of Michigan that shows the average age at which kids engage with screen media on a regular basis is four months old.

Excessive screen time for young children is a public health concern, as research shows it causes negative impacts on social and emotional growth, as well as language development. Additionally, excessive screen time is linked to a rise in obesity, sleep disorders and mental health conditions including depression and anxiety.

The New Mexico Public Education Department requires computer-based testing in elementary schools for reading, math, and science. In kindergarten through second grade, the state requires use of Amira, an AI-program, to assess and track student reading development.

Numerous lawmakers have expressed concern about the program and according to NMPED, as of earlier this month, 18 local education agencies had opted out of one or more components of Amira’s assessment process.

On Tuesday, LESC Principal Analyst Marit Andrews presented recommendations to state lawmakers, which include having NMPED issue K-12 guidelines for daily screen use. In addition to eliminating screen time for kindergarten through second grade students, the task force suggested PED consider minimizing screen time deemed nonessential to active learning and limiting access to entertainment and social media apps.

But LESC Chair Sen. William Soules (D-Las Cruces) expressed concern over what the legislative committee’s role should be toward implementing the guidelines come the next legislative session.

“We can request the PED to do something — it doesn’t compel them to do anything unless it is directly in statute,” Soules said. 

The task force advised lawmakers to leave the screen time guidelines to NMPED code rather than state statute so they remain “adaptable to change,” LESC Principal Analyst Marit Andrews explained.

But the task force did recommend lawmakers push legislation that defines screen time, as New Mexico law does not currently set parameters for acceptable screen time use for the purpose of K-12 instruction. The definition, Andrews said, should distinguish between “active” and “passive” use of technology.

Benjamin Barlow, a member of the task force and principal of North Star Elementary School in Albuquerque, explained to lawmakers that not all screen time is created equal. In one scenario, he said, students could be using a computer in an active way to collect data for a science project. In a separate scenario he posed, a student could use a computer to watch an instructional video without discussion or reflection, which he calls passive use. 

“So for me, as an administrator, the question isn’t simply how many minutes was a student on a screen. The question is what is the student doing on that screen and why was technology the right tool,” Barlow told lawmakers.