NYC Council holds hearing on screen time and use of digital devices in schools

A New York City Council committee raised questions to the Department of Education about the use of technology in the classroom, including screen time and AI, during a hearing Tuesday.

Council members Shekar Krishnan and Eric Dinowitz want the department to cut back on screen time in city public schools because they say evidence doesn't show that it improves learning.

"Its pervasiveness has survived the pandemic and it's a problem now," Krishnan said.

State lawmakers previously banned cellphones during the school day from bell to bell. Now, the biggest target is YouTube.

Krishnan and Dinowitz want students blocked from freely using the platform on school-issued devices like iPads.

"Students in classes scrolling on YouTube, waiting for the next dopamine hit on this gameified learning," Dinowitz said.

Their objections don't necessarily mean a teacher couldn't show a video for a lesson, but they want the department to prove there's an actual educational reason for using it. During the hearing, Scott Strickland, the DOE's chief information officer, said the city is going a similar route as Los Angeles public schools.

"We heard everyone loud and clear. As of Wednesday night 5 p.m., we filtered YouTube out of all student devices," said Scott Strickland, the DOE's chief information officer.

The City Council says the DOE's use of educational technology has expanded quite a bit since the COVID-19 pandemic. Committee members questioned the DOE's process for technology contracting, how the DOE developed its AI guidance, and the impact of the cellphone ban.

The City Council released a 28-page briefing report reviewing years of research and audits from the city and state that found more screen time and devices don't reliably improve student achievement.

DOE representatives were also asked how screen time is defined.

"If we're going to be using digital devices technology in our classrooms, it needs to be intentional, active not passive. We don't want to see kids on a one-to-one device isolated," First Deputy Chancellor Danielle Giunta said.

City Council members are also looking into one-to-one devices given to younger students and whether some testing should go back to pencil and paper.

"I have been concerned about screen time in schools. Very much so, especially for the younger grades. So I'll be watching closely what the City of New York does, but absolutely contemplating what we're gonna do next year when the legislative session resumes on looking at it as a statewide approach. We know we need to do more," Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

According to the report, during the pandemic, the department bought 511,000 iPads for $287 million, and spent about $4 million per month for data.

An audit by the comptroller's office later found the city didn't have a central system to track them, including more than 3,000 cases where students received multiple iPads.

Parents have mixed feelings about the technology.

"There is both pros and cons about it. Like my son has learned a lot from YouTube.Good things," one mother said. "Like, if too much exposure is given and you don't restrict and don't like monitor what they are watching, it can go bad."

"They use iPads in their class and stuff, and that's a good thing. As long as it's just for school," a dad said.