Less screen time: Seattle Public Schools to phase out K–2 device program

To reduce screen time and reliance on technology for young learners, Seattle Public Schools announced it will phase out its iPad program for kindergarten through second-grade students starting next year.

Under the new policy, early elementary students will no longer be assigned individual devices for school or home use. Instead, devices will transition into shared classroom resources utilized by teachers for assessments, accessibility accommodations, and specific curriculum components, the district says.

Officials said that planned daily screen time for K–2 students will be capped at 0 to 30 minutes, emphasizing that technology use will not be mandatory every day. The shift aims to prioritize developmentally appropriate, hands-on learning, direct teacher instruction, and peer interaction over independent screen use.

The Seattle Public Schools decision is part of a national change in public education coming out of the pandemic. During the COVID-19 crisis, emergency federal relief funds allowed thousands of public districts to purchase hardware and achieve long-desired 1:1 student-to-device ratios. In the years since, developmental research, educator fatigue, parental pushback, and fiscal reality have led to a widespread reassessment — especially in early elementary grades.

Seattle, which has some of the highest rates of non-public school attendance in the nation at roughly 25%, is also making its change as private and religious schools in the area generally take a much more restrictive approach to technology in early elementary grades.

The SPS policy applies exclusively to K–2 classrooms; device policies for grades 3–12 remain unchanged. Accommodations for students requiring assistive technology will continue to be fully supported, the district said.

SPS spends roughly $21 million annually on digital efforts including devices, infrastructure, and more than 50 software licenses out of its approximately $1.3 billion budget.