House Bill 584 builds upon The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act, which limited screen time for children ages 2 through 5 and quickly passed through the legislative process earlier this session. Rep. Jeana Ross, R-Guntersville, the former secretary of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, carries both bills.
"When the bill got such positive feedback from everyone and got through the House, the Senate and signed by the governor so quickly, we decided, 'Well, why not try it?,' so (Ross) introduced this one that went through fifth grade," Collins said "... By popular request, it was asked to move it all the way through high school. We're just learning a lot more about the detriments of screen time for students."
Collins said both bills have been well received, with legislators who aren't normally involved with education policy participating in the process.
Decatur City Schools Superintendent Michael Douglas said the district doesn't currently have a formal screen-based instruction limit, but it tries to minimize screen time.
"We didn't quantify it, but we believe that, particularly in the early grades, they need to have real books and rich texts in their hands rather than devices as much as possible," he said. "I'm not opposed to parameters about screen time."
When speaking on The Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act, Morgan County Schools Superintendent Tracie Turrentine previously said that the school system does not support excessive or passive screen usage within the school.
"To promote balance and maximize engagement, we encourage that only 5-10 percent of daily class time be spent on screens for research or similar activities, with the majority of learning taking place through discussion, hands-on tasks, collaboration, and teacher-guided instruction," she said.
The former House Bill 78 prohibits screen time for children under 2 years of age and spells out guidelines of what age-appropriate programming looks like. HB584 is more flexible. It would create The Elementary Technology Task Force, which would develop standards for screen-based instruction that it would annually review.
"Research demonstrates that children learn foundation skills most effectively through direct instruction, handwriting, physical texts, manipulatives, and sustained interaction with teachers and peers," the bill reads. "Educational technology is most effective when used intentionally and in moderation and should not displace evidence-based instructional practices."
Collins wants students and educators to move away from screen-reliance and back toward physical learning materials.
"I just hope that we continue to reduce our face in a screen, so that we're actually communicating with each other, that our teachers are actually working with our students, that we're using books," Collins said. "This is the biggest thing we've gotten away from, and that's the negative that I've heard from people is that we would have to start investing in books again. But we're seeing more and more how investing in books is such a positive for our students and for education."
In the last few years, DCS has started purchasing more digital textbooks when new editions are released. The district will obtain a set to keep in classrooms, but students receive a digital copy to access on their Chromebook.
Douglas said that while he is open to screen-time limits, he agreed that it would require schools to purchase materials that it had previously moved to a digital format.
DCS students currently use devices for tasks such as researching, writing papers and testing. Lower grades also use a program called i-Ready, which can create an individualized approach to math. It provides more questions in areas that a student misses before moving on to more advanced concepts.
Douglas said screen-based instruction also prepares students for graduating into a digital world with a growing use of artificial intelligence (AI).
"This generation is going out into a world where AI is going to replace a bunch of jobs, so we don't need to totally get them off a device," he said. "They need to learn how to code and learn how to use AI for sure."
Legislators have also considered certain classes or topics that require screen-based instruction, according to Collins. The bill does not apply to technology used for individualized education programs (IEPs), computer science classes or remote learning.
An earlier version of HB584 established a two-hour limit for total daily screen-based instruction completed in school and at home. Collins said this requirement was removed because legislators recognized the rule would be difficult to monitor and enforce.
"Those guidelines could very well be two hours, but let's let (the task force) make that so that it's not actually in the law; it's just in the recommendations of the rules," Collins said.
The bill does include, however, a 20-20-20 rule that requires students to look at an object 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds for every 20 minutes of screen time.
"It would be hard to enforce that, but I do think, as educators, we need to be mindful of what's appropriate for children," Douglas said.
HB584 reported out of its House committee and is on the floor calendar. March 19 marked legislative day 24 out of 30, and legislators will return from spring break next week.
"It's still got a long way to go," Collins said. "It's a House bill, and we are getting toward the end of session. We may get to think about it for another year, but for right now, it's a good conversation to be having."
If passed, it would go into effect Oct. 1.
© 2026 The Decatur Daily (Decatur, Ala.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
