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Oregon Screen-Free Parenting · Parent toolkit

Step 4 of 4

Make your ask

Boards respond to specific, reasonable requests with examples of other districts that did the same thing.

01Pick from the menu

Start where your district is. Each tier builds on the one before it.

Tier 1: Transparency

  • Publish a list of every app and tool on student devices (Bend-La Pine is inventorying its classroom technology).
  • Publish a report of classroom technology contracts and costs (LAUSD adopted this).
  • Report average daily screen time by grade each year.

Tier 2: Classroom practice

  • No individual devices in K-2 except for assessments and accommodations (LAUSD through 1st grade; proposed in Portland).
  • Reduce device use in K-2 (Medford, starting 2026-27).
  • K-5 devices stay at school (Lake Oswego).
  • Shared carts or classroom sets instead of one device per student (LAUSD and Utah; Bend-La Pine is moving K-5 to classroom sets; Beaverton moved sixth grade to carts at three middle schools).
  • Paper as the default for core subjects, with technology taught as its own subject (LAUSD's resolution encourages paper and pen assignments).
  • Block YouTube and non-instructional games on student devices (LAUSD; proposed in Tigard-Tualatin).
  • No screen time as a reward.
  • AI tools are opt-in, not on by default.

Tier 3: Governance

  • A technology advisory committee of parents, teachers, and independent experts.
  • An evidence standard new products must meet before purchase.
  • Remove apps without evidence behind them (Bend-La Pine).
  • Performance-based vendor contracts (Bend-La Pine's resolution calls for considering them).
  • A parent's right to request less screen time for their own child (Iowa law).
  • A clear opt-out pathway with low-tech alternatives and no penalty.

02Required in every ask

Protect assistive technology and IEP and 504 accommodations.

Iowa, Tennessee, and Utah wrote explicit carve-outs into their 2026 laws; some other states did not.

03How to deliver it

  1. Email the whole board.
  2. Give public comment.Speaking at a school board meeting
  3. Write the superintendent once you have a group.
  4. Propose a resolution.

A letter to the editor can add public attention at any stage.

04Model language to borrow

Templates for this step

See all templates

Last reviewed September 27, 2026.