At its first public meeting since Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced his resignation, the Los Angeles Unified school board on Tuesday unanimously approved a sweeping student screen-time policy while making no public comments about the district’s leadership transition.
The board is scheduled to meet again Wednesday in closed session, where the agenda includes a personnel item involving the superintendent. It was not immediately clear whether the board would discuss Carvalho’s departure or take any action.
Approached about the matter after the meeting, Board President Scott Schmerelson declined to comment on Carvalho’s departure and referred questions to the district’s communications office. Asked whether the board expected to make any public announcement after Wednesday’s closed-session meeting, he said he did not know.
Instead, board members focused on agenda items including strategic plan, budget and a policy limiting students’ screen time.
After hours of discussion and public comment, the board unanimously approved the measure, which supporters called a landmark shift toward more teacher-led instruction. Some critics, however, warned that broad restrictions on classroom technology could create new barriers for students from low income communities who rely on school-issued devices and digital learning tools.
The new policy establishes grade-specific limits on students screen time use, including no instructional screen time for early education through first grade. Elementary students in grades 2 and 3 will be limited to 20 minutes of instructional screen time per day, while students in grades 4 and 5 will be limited to 30 minutes. For middle and high school students, the board shifted policy to weekly, per-subject limits intended to give teachers greater flexibility while reducing overall screen use. The rollout will begin in August for the youngest students and extend to grades 6 through 12 in January 2027.
District officials said the final policy reflects months of revisions following extensive public feedback, including input from roughly 19,000 participants. Compared with an earlier draft, the policy replaces recommended screen-time guidelines with enforceable maximum limits, expanding parent transparency and consent provisions and adding more detailed implementation guidance.
“It’s an incredibly robust and groundbreaking document,” said Board member Nick Melvoin, whose April resolution set the process in motion for the policy approved Tuesday.
Several board members described the policy as a potential model for school districts nationwide, while acknowledging questions remain about enforcement, implementation costs and how schools will monitor students’ screen time.
Supporters with Schools Beyond Screens praised the board for approving one of the nation’s strongest student screen-time policies.
“It’s just so incredibly exciting,” Lila Byock, who founded the group, said in an interview after the policy was adopted. “It really has restored some of my faith in democracy that a small, but vocal group of parent activists could bring their concerns to their elected representatives, and see this kind of sweeping policy change go into effect so quickly.”
The group nevertheless urged the board members to further reduce screen-time limits for elementary students and adopt a temporary moratorium on generative artificial intelligence in classrooms until a district advisory committee completes its work.
“Given the lack of clear benefits to generative AI in education, and the significant, well-documented harms to children’s cognitive and mental health, a temporary ban is the only reasonable approachable to keeping kids safe, while the ad hoc committee completes its work,” said Anya Meksin, who’s also with Schools Beyond Screens.
Although she supported the policy, Board Vice President Rocio Rivas raised concerns that its implementation should not unintentionally disadvantage students who rely on school-issued technology or digital accessibility tools.
Board members also pressed staff on implementation costs, how schools would monitor compliance, how the policy would affect students with disabilities and multilingual learners, and how the district would measure whether reduced screen time improves student outcomes.
District staff said implementation will begin this fall for the youngest grades and include principal training, parent toolkits and ongoing monitoring as the policy expands to older students over the coming school year.
The policy passed 6-0. Board President Scott Schmerelson recused himself from the vote, citing his ownership of Google stock.
The board also approved the district’s 2026-27 budget and Local Control and Accountability Plan during Tuesday’s meeting. Before adopting the budget, members approved an amendment by Boardmember Tanya Ortiz Franklin restoring $25 million in Expanded Learning Opportunities Program funding for afterschool providers by redirecting money from several other programs.