A bill that would prohibit students in grades K-5 from accessing digital devices while in the classroom is advancing through the Tennessee state legislature.
Senate Bill 2310 and its House Bill 2393 companion have picked up steam among lawmakers in the Tennessee legislature since their introduction in early February. On Tuesday, the Senate bill advanced to the full Education Committee and the House bill received additional support through new cosponsors.
Both bills would prohibit local education agencies (LEAs) and public charter schools from allowing students to access digital devices at school, and from allowing employees to use a digital device to provide instruction.
The bills would also not allow instructors to administer assessments to students in an electronic format except for under certain circumstances.
Those exceptions include compliance with federal laws such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and administration of assessments including universal screeners, dyslexia screenings, and benchmark assessments.
If passed, the new rules on device use would go into effect on July 1, according to the bills’ text.
The Senate bill was introduced by Sen. Joey Hensley and cosponsored by Sen. Rusty Crowe, both Republicans. The House bill was introduced by Rep. Michele Reneau-R, and co-sponsored by Republican Reps. Jody Barrett, Scott Cepicky, Renea Jones, Aron Maberry, Jake McCalmon, Jay Reedy, and Cameron Sexton.
The proposals land amid pushes from the Trump administration and industry to improve and scale digital learning for K-12 students, including providing artificial intelligence literacy, computer science competency, and other digital skills.
Other states are also proposing limits on digital access for younger students.
One bill passed the Virginia Senate last month that would limit instructional screen time based on a student’s grade level, for example.