BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – As concerns grow about the impact of screens on children’s development, Alabama lawmakers advanced a bill Tuesday that would limit screen time in publicly funded child care and early learning programs for children from birth through age 5.
House Bill 78 would prohibit screen use for children under age 2 and direct state agencies to develop age-appropriate screen time standards for older preschoolers, while also requiring training for educators.
The bill reflects a continuing effort by lawmakers to rein in screen use in educational settings, following a statewide ban implemented this year on student cell phones during the instructional day in public K-12 schools.
While lawmakers from both parties praised the bill’s intent, some raised concerns about funding and the limits of state policy in addressing screen use beyond the classroom.
Rep. Jeana Ross, R-Guntersville, sponsored House Bill 78, which is being carried in the Senate by Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva.
She said the bill aims to put guidelines in place to ensure children aren’t using screens excessively.
“I’m not saying that we’re banning screens,” she said during House debate Tuesday.
“I’m just saying that we’ve got to come up with some guidelines to where it’s not excessive, and that we’re allowing children to have this hands-on learning, to create experiences where the teacher is involved.”
While the original bill prescribed screen time limits for children aged 2 through 4, that language was dropped from the version the House passed.
Instead, the Departments of Education, Human Resources, and Early Childhood Education are charged with developing age-appropriate screen time standards.
The bill also requires the three state agencies to develop standards for what constitutes high-quality programming that could be shown in education settings for children aged 2 to 5, along with annual training requirements for teachers and staff.
Public kindergartens would also be impacted. Each local board of education would be required to adopt a policy providing guidance on appropriate use of screens in kindergarten classrooms before the start of the 2027-28 school year.
The limits would not apply to testing, to kindergarteners enrolled in online virtual schools or to students whose Individualized Education Program allows screens to be used.
The bill would become effective Jan. 1, 2027.
Ross added that some of the restrictions on screen time are already in place in some agencies.
“They’re just not cohesive or comprehensive across the continuum,” she said.
Gov. Kay Ivey shared her support for setting screen time limits in a news release Monday, calling it one of her legislative priorities for the session.
“As technology penetrates ever deeper into the lives of our youngest children, their exposure to electronic devices, particularly smart phones and tablets, risks harming critical social and cognitive development,” Ivey said.
“The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act will install guardrails to protect our youngest children from these negative effects by limiting their screen access during early childhood education.”
Despite the broad support, at least one lawmaker said concerns about funding and classroom resources ultimately shaped her opposition to the bill.
Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, said there are schools in her area where teachers rely heavily on screens rather than books to teach children.
“They learn it from a computer screen,” Moore said. She said she is worried that schools won’t have enough funding to purchase books to bring them back into the classroom.
Moore said lawmakers need to provide funding to ensure schools can purchase books to replace screens in preK and kindergarten classrooms. She was the only lawmaker to vote “no.”
Rep. Pebblin Warren, D-Tuskegee, praised the bill, but cautioned that there’s only so much lawmakers can do to curb excessive screen usage, and that parents need to change their practices.
“You will see an 18-month-old baby sitting in a carrier start crying, and the momma’s gonna give him an iPad,” Warren said. “The iPads and the technology have become the No. 1 babysitter.”
The bill has been assigned to the Senate Education Policy Committee.
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