We are facing a significant public health crisis. Children are being exposed to screens and internet-connected devices at younger ages and for more prolonged periods of time than ever before. At the same time, more and more schools are issuing electronic devices on a one-to-one basis to students with the expectation that these laptops and tablets will be utilized for class assignments.
 
Abundant research has shown that excessive exposure to screens has negative effects on physical and mental health, social skills, attention spans, and academic outcomes. Yet, physicians are struggling to issue appropriate guidance to parents for home screen use because they are unsure how much screen time children are getting during the school day.
 
For these reasons and more, we will be introducing a resolution directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct an audit on public schools’ policies regarding the amount of screen time students are exposed to during the school day. This study will inform the General Assembly’s lawmaking ability by comparing best practices and existing policies across Pennsylvania school districts and other states.
 
Please join us in introducing this resolution to better inform parents, physicians, and school districts’ screen time policies and to help inform legislators as we create policy around this serious public health crisis.