Republican Lawmaker Plans to Introduce Legislation Creating Screen-Free Classrooms Through 2nd Grade

Wednesday, September 16th, 2026 -- 11:01 AM

(Corrinne Hess, Wisconsin Public Radio) Last fall, Wisconsin became the 36th state to limit cell phones in schools with bipartisan support.

Now, according to Corrinne Hess with the Wisconsin Public Radio, a Republican lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would create screen-free classrooms through second grade. State Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, says research shows young children have the least to gain and the most to lose from spending time on screens.

“My hope is that we can provide a better environment for learning for our students across the state,” Steffen said. “And one of the ways the research has shown, and teachers and parents have asked for, is to eliminate laptops and tablets for our youngest learners.”

Steffen’s bill will be formally introduced in the 2027-28 legislative session. He says it mirrors the position of the American Federation of Teachers, the second-largest teachers union in the country, and the group’s “Devices Down, Eyes Up, Hands-on” proposal.

Under the proposed bill, pre-kindergarten through second grade classrooms would be screen-free aside from limited exceptions related to standardized assessments, computer science requirements and supporting students with special needs.

The ban on screens would apply to all public and charter schools. Steffen is hopeful school districts and his colleagues in the Legislature will be receptive to the proposal. “The good news is that we won’t be the first one out of the box on this,” Steffen said.

This year, four states passed laws restricting or regulating screen time for students from childcare through fifth grade. Utah and Alabama recently enacted legislation similar to the bill Steffen plans to introduce.

Iowa capped digital instruction at 60 minutes per day for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, with the same exceptions Steffen plans to include. A new Tennessee law requires every district and charter school serving K-5 students to adopt an age-appropriate digital device policy to minimize unnecessary screen time.

The country’s largest school districts, New York, Los Angeles and Washington D.C., also announced screen time restrictions this school year in response to calls from parent activists.

In Madison, a group of parents are pushing the Madison Metropolitan School District to have screen-free classrooms until second grade and limit screen time until eighth grade.

MMSD is reviewing its screen policies but a spokesperson for the district said, “eliminating computers and technology entirely isn’t the right answer.” Chris Bucher, a spokesperson for the state Department of Public Instruction, said the agency has not reviewed Steffen’s proposal and could not comment on a bill until it has been submitted.

In Sauk Prairie, the school district recently adopted a 1,000 day goal that Superintendent Jeff Wright says aligns with Steffen’s work. “We want to make sure that screen use is deliberate and never the default,” Wright said. “We also intend to shadow students across full instructional days to gauge how much time is spent engaging with a screen. The limits will be far lower for our youngest students than our older students.”

Wright said there are a few challenges to making K-2 completely screen-free statewide. “Many of us do not oppose the idea of keeping screens out of the hands of individual students for as long as possible,” Wright said. “Removing the shared screen from the front of the classroom, which is today’s chalkboard, is a harder sell.”

Steffen said there is no question that technology has added incredible value to life and education, but not for the youngest kids. “So, returning our classrooms from pre-K through second grade back to paper, pencil, actual books with actual pages is the best solution to advance education for those youngest learners,” Steffen said.

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