Screen time limits for young children goes to governor

A bill to limit screen time for children was approved by the Alabama Senate on Thursday.

HB 78, sponsored by Rep. Jeana Ross, R-Guntersville, would require licensed child-care facilities, public kindergarten classrooms and certain Pre-K classrooms to implement guidelines and training on screen time created by the Department of Early Childhood Education (ADECE) Research and Evaluation team.

The bill passed 33-0. Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, carried the bill in the Senate.

“House Bill 78 is a focused, evidence-based bill that sets reasonable screen time limits for children aged five and under in funded learning programs,” Chesteen said.

The legislation now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. A message seeking comment from Ivey’s office was left Thursday afternoon.

Under the Alabama Administrative Code, children younger than two years old in child care facilities are prohibited using devices with screens while children who are older than two years old are limited to 30 minutes per day for children in half-day programs and less than an hour for children in licensed child care facilities.

Ross’ bill expands the limitations to 90 minutes per day for children ages two through four years old and prohibits individual screen usage. The bill would also require local boards of education to set guidelines for appropriate screen usage in kindergarten classes.

Jaime McKinney, a pediatrician at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Medicine and Children’s of Alabama, said in December that research shows that “excessive” screen time can have negative effects on children.

Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, said he was worried that children in after school programs would not be able to use devices unless it was for educational purposes.

“They have downtime, they’ve done whatever those processes are, then are they limited to be able to use the screen,” Smitherman said. “Could they use the screen other than for education purposes? I guess can they play games or watch cartoons or something?”

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Smitherman said that Ross addressed his concerns in a private conversation, and that he is otherwise supportive of the bill.

Ross previously served as Alabama Secretary of Early Childhood Education from 2012 to 2020. Chesteen said her work for Alabama’s children goes beyond the screen limitation legislation.

“When she was secretary, our First Class pre-K, she did an excellent job with the foundation of that program to put us, in the State of Alabama, on the trajectory that we continue on today,” Chesteen said.

Tracye Strichik, executive director of VOICES for Alabama’s Children, said in a statement Thursday afternoon that the bill will help children in publicly funded early childhood settings succeed.

“Prioritizing the early years builds a strong foundation for lifelong achievement. By centering relationships, play-based learning, and intentional technology use, we can foster environments where children flourish and develop a lasting curiosity about the world around them,” Strichik said.

Gov. Kay Ivey supported the legislation. She said in January that it is important to reduce screen time because of its negative impact on children’s cognitive development.

“The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act will install guardrails to protect our youngest children from these negative effects by limiting their screen access during early childhood education,” Ivey said in January.

An August report from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a hospital in Los Angeles, said that children under three years old should have “little to no screen exposure” because it can delay social skill development.

This story is from alabamareflector.com.