S.C. Wants $18M to Warn Students about Too Much Screen Time
Skylar Laird/S.C. Daily Gazette
COLUMBIA — Public school students can’t use their cellphone during school hours, and the state Department of Education wants nearly $18 million to explain why.
As part of an initiative to get students off their phones, the agency is asking legislators for money to buy curriculum explaining the negative effects of screen time. The education department would partner with ScreenStrong, a North Carolina-based nonprofit that sells books and courses educating children and their parents about how screens can hinder learning and other parts of their lives.
“The evidence is overwhelming: screen overuse is a root driver of the student mental health and absenteeism crises facing schools nationwide,” reads an agency budget request. “Yet while families and teachers see the impact daily, few have access to clear, science¬-based guidance for how to help.”
Research has shown that screens can have some benefit for education and learning, but using phones and social media excessively can disrupt children’s development and lead to lower attention spans, worse academic performance and diminished social skills.
If the agency gets the money, it will give all third- through eighth-graders books written for their age groups explaining how their brains work and how too much phone usage can cause problems. The books also offer alternative activities, encouraging children to play and talk to their peers, according to the nonprofit.
After an initial year of providing the books to all students in elementary and middle school, the agency would switch to only students in third and sixth grades, according to the budget request. How schools would teach students this material is not explained in the request.
“Together, we will work with parents, educators, and community partners to reclaim students’ attention, restore genuine connection with peers and families, and strengthen the foundation for academic and behavioral well-being,” the request reads.
Keeping students off their phones has been a priority for the department in recent years, mirroring a similar push across the country.
Under a state policy approved in September 2024, students at all schools must keep their phones and connected devices, such as smartwatches, off and away from the time the first bell rings in the morning until the dismissal bell rings in the afternoon.
Districts had the discretion to create stricter bans, such as telling students not to bring their phones to school at all or requiring them to place their phones in locked pouches. The state provided districts about $2 million from a fund meant for security purposes last year to lock up students’ phones, including with pouches, designated lockers or cubbies.
Any school district that didn’t pass a ban at least as strict as the state-level policy by the beginning of 2025 risked losing state funding, but all schools met the deadline, an agency spokesman said previously.
