Do students have too much Chromebook time? One Maryland district will find out.

Tucked between glue sticks (nontoxic) and markers (various colors) was an item that made Brian Taylor pause.

Why were headphones (for computer use) included on his son’s kindergarten school supply list?

Taylor and his wife have set rules about when their kids, ages 3 and 5, are allowed to watch screens. For example, an educational video can be deployed when they absolutely need the boys to stand still.

“Like if we’re applying sunscreen,” Taylor said.

But their eldest son is about to start elementary school and, with that, the family is ceding some of their screen control to Montgomery County Public Schools. Seeing headphones on the supply list made Taylor wonder how many hours his son will spend in front of a computer during class.

As they prepare for a new school year, MCPS officials are launching an audit of student screen time in kindergarten through eighth grade. By March 2027, they will report to the board on students’ average daily screen time, as well as opportunities to reduce it. They’ll also assess whether their existing content filters are working to prevent students from reaching inappropriate content.

“School-issued devices will tell us an awful lot about the programs that are used, the software that we use, how frequently we use it,” Superintendent Thomas Taylor said at a recent board meeting. “That’ll be a critical data point.”

This audit comes as parents across the country are revolting over how much of class is spent on screens — particularly in elementary school. They’ve watched as the Chromebooks that powered pandemic-era remote learning became an inescapable part of school.

Now, they worry excessive screen time could be straining their children’s eyes, reducing their attention spans, interrupting their sleep patterns and compromising their mental health.

District leaders must balance the fact that much of today’s school experience is reliant on technology. Students take their standardized tests on computers, and many lesson plans are digital.

“We’re paying attention to this issue just like everybody else is,” the superintendent said.

MCPS mom Betsy Tao said parents will be closely watching how the audit plays out. They’re monitoring how similar efforts unfolded in places like Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“There are other school districts that are far ahead of Montgomery County, and so we are reaching out to those districts to see if we can get some lessons learned from their audits to share with our district,” said Tao, who is part of the Schools Beyond Screens MCPS group.

Parent concerns

The Montgomery County Council of PTAs surveyed parents and found many were concerned about students spending too much time on school Chromebooks.

The parents wanted to see more textbooks and workbooks in the classroom. They hoped their kids would pull out paper and pencils when they sat down to do homework.

The survey, which included roughly 1,000 respondents, delved into the myriad ways students use Chromebooks for nonacademic reasons, including to play video games, watch YouTube videos or scour the internet.

Parents repeatedly lamented that their kids were able to find inappropriate content on their school-issued devices.

“They were putting porn into a google doc with their chromebooks at one point,” one respondent wrote.

For months, parents have come to school board meetings with troubling stories about what kids are doing on their computers.

MCPS mom Marissa Walker said students could access a game called “Five Nights at Epstein’s,” in which the player attempts to escape sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein.

District officials blocked the game last spring when parents flagged it, she said, but workarounds remained on MCPS devices.

“Blocking one URL at a time just doesn’t work with today’s internet where harmful content spreads quickly across many different websites that change all the time,” Walker said.

Maintaining devices has become expensive for the district, too.

The school board recently approved a contract for Chromebook repairs.

Fixing screens alone is estimated to cost more than $3 million next school year. Tackling broken keyboard and trackpads could come in at another $800,000.

All screens?

The tech backlash extends to small screens, too.

Starting this year, Montgomery County will have an “away all day” cellphone policy from elementary through high school.

Districts across Maryland will be required to enforce cellphone policies by the 2027-28 school year.

“Students may have a personal device with them on school property, but it must stay put away and unused for the entire Academic Day from the start of the instructional day until the official end of the school day,” a district FAQ says.

Students will be subject to disciplinary measures if they repeatedly flaunt the rule, which makes clear it’s not just phones that must stay out of sight. Students also can’t use other personal electronics, like smart watches, laptops or e-readers.

Devices issued by the school, however, are excluded from the ban.