The Department of Education on Aug. 20 issued new guidance urging states and school districts to judge education technology by its instructional value and impact on student outcomes rather than screen time alone.
The guidance, released in a Dear Colleague Letter from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, calls on states, districts, educators, families, and education technology providers to distinguish between recreational technology use and technology used for instruction. The department said decisions about classroom technology should remain primarily with states and local communities, with input from parents and teachers.
In its Aug. 20 press release, the department said schools should focus on learning impact, select tools with evidence of effectiveness, regularly review results, and provide educators with training to use the technology effectively. Providers, meanwhile, should minimize unnecessary screen exposure and provide evidence, implementation support, and transparent information about their products.
“Cell phones and algorithm-driven social media distract students from learning and undermine the focused classroom environments they need to succeed. States and schools are right to take steps to remove those distractions,” said Kirsten Baesler, assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education. “In contrast, instructional technologies should be judged by their impact on learning, not simply whether they happen on a screen.”
The department pointed to potential benefits from classroom technology, including expanded access to advanced courses for students in rural communities, assistive technologies for students with disabilities, digital assessments that provide faster feedback, virtual tutoring, and tools that can help schools respond to staffing shortages.
“The Trump Administration hopes that as states ground their decisions in evidence and educational value, technology is a meaningful tool to improve student outcomes,” Baesler said.
When choosing education technology, states and districts should consider cost, usability, accessibility, interoperability, implementation support, and educator experience alongside evidence of effectiveness, according to the guidance. The guidance encourages schools to incorporate evidence into procurement and renewal decisions, including looking for products that have undergone randomized controlled trials and demonstrated positive outcomes.
Louisiana, Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, and Texas are among states exploring contracting models that use shared performance measures, student data privacy protections, implementation requirements, and vendor accountability tied to district goals, the department said. Early efforts have focused largely on tutoring services and, increasingly, education technology.
The department said every education technology product should be able to answer five questions: what learning problem it solves, when it should be used, for whom it should be used, how long it should be used, and what evidence shows that it improves student learning. Schools should also be prepared to change course when evidence shows a tool is not producing results and remove products that repeatedly fall short, according to the guidance.
The guidance builds on a July 22, 2025, letter from Education Secretary Linda McMahon that outlined five principles for responsible artificial intelligence use in education: Tools should be educator-led, ethical, accessible, transparent and explainable, and protective of student data. That earlier guidance also said existing federal education grant funds may support AI-powered instructional materials, tutoring, and college and career advising when those uses comply with applicable laws and regulations.
Going forward, the department encouraged states and districts to establish processes for continuously reviewing how technology is implemented and whether it is meeting instructional goals. The department asked providers to use classroom implementation data, parent feedback, and student academic outcomes to improve their products.
