Less classroom screen-time, more books, and cursive writing lessons could soon be in store for Missouri’s K-5 public school students.
The state House of Representatives has passed a bill sponsored by Rep. Tricia Byrnes, R-Wentzville, which would require schools to adopt a local policy to limit screen time during school hours, on assignments, and on district devices outside of school.
“The experts out of Silicon Valley, they opt to have their children learn in K-5…they learn on a tech-free environment because they know that the fundamentals are best taught with the basics,” Byrnes said during House debate on her bill.
Rep. Kathy Steinhoff, D-Columbia, supports the legislation.
“This is a really exciting moment, I think, for this bill, for both you and your co-sponsor. I think this will be the most important bill that we pass out of education this year,” said Steinhoff.
“I do because we’re going right to the root cause of the mental health issues and our decline, our quick decline in education,” said Byrnes.
Rep. Ed Lewis, R-Moberly, the chairman of the Missouri House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, spoke in support of the bill.
“We have to come to some consensus as to how much screen time, especially in the elementary grades, students need to be exposed to. We’ve gone the wrong way. Sometimes we have to admit we were wrong,” said Lewis.
House Bill 2230 would exempt online schooling.
During a House committee hearing on the proposal, Allie Rains explained her opposition.
“As an educator, I have found that technology is imperative to helping American students compete in a global market. If Missouri students are not taught to be comfortable with technology in the classroom, this will impede their competition in the national workforce,” said Rains.
“We oppose this because politicians aren’t education experts, so they shouldn’t be micromanaging our classrooms or instruction tools. Concerns about technology usage are valid, but this removes the flexibility that teachers need to meet the needs of all students in their classroom in any given day or lesson plan,” said Alyssa Franke.
“As an educator I can use my own professional judgment on the use of technology in my classroom. We always do what is best for students. Someone outside of education should not be making these decisions,” said Amber Moloney.
The legislation would create new advisory councils to provide guidance on cursive writing and best practices for classroom screen use, with reports due to state leaders beginning in 2027.
It would require the limits to be in place by the end of the 2027–28 school year.
The bill now goes to the Missouri Senate for possible fine-tuning.
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