Rep. Jeana Ross, R-Guntersville, standing on the floor of the Alabama Senate on Feb. 26, 2026, in Montgomery, Alabama. Ross, who sponsored legislation earlier the session to restrict screen time for preschoolers, is sponsoring a bill to extend screen time limit to all public school students. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)
Just weeks after approving limits on screen time for preschoolers, Alabama lawmakers are mounting a last minute push to set screen time limits for all public school students.
The House Education Policy Committee Thursday approved HB 584, sponsored by Rep. Jeana Ross, R-Guntersville and filed on March 5. The bill is an extension of the Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act signed by Gov. Kay Ivey earlier this month.
“What I’m hoping this will accomplish is that these two acts will work together to create a continuous research based framework for developmentally appropriate technology you see from from early childhood to 12th grade,” Ross said in an interview Friday.
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Among other features, Ross’ bill would limit total screen time instruction in schools to two hours a day and mandate regular vision breaks after screen use.
Ross’ first bill limited screen time for children from birth until kindergarten in licensed child-care facilities, public kindergarten classrooms and specific Pre-K classes. Under the law, the Department of Early Childhood Education, Alabama State Department of Education and Department of Human Resources would collaborate on creative guidelines for appropriate screen time usage.
During committee, Reps. Alan Baker, R-Brewton, and Marcus Paramore, R-Troy, brought amendments extending the limit to 12th grade and requiring students to follow the “20-20-20 rule” during scheduled screen breaks. The 20-20-20 rule states every 20 minutes students must look at an object at least 20 feet away from them for at least 20 seconds. The method has been recommended by the American Optometric Association to reduce and prevent eye strain.
Mark Dixon, president of A+ Education Partnership, a education nonprofit, said in an interview Friday the organization supported the bill.
“We’ve seen the benefits of the cell phone ban that legislature and Gov. Ivey passed last year; we were already seeing the benefits in classes this year, and A+ is support of limiting screen time in an age-appropriate manner,” he said.
Messages seeking comment were left with School Superintendents of Alabama and Alabama Association of School Boards Friday.
During the meeting, Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, who chairs the committee, said Rep. Chris Blackshear, R-Smiths Station, brought the idea of expanding the limit to 12th grade. Attempts to reach Blackshear were not immediately successful.
Under HB 584, a 17-member task force composed of educators; vision specialists and national experts in child development, digital media research or cognitive science will work in collaboration with the Alabama State Department of Education to develop guidelines for best practices for screen-based instruction.
“We want it to be high quality and to be used intentionally, again, just avoiding that passive use of technology, just like with the birth to age five kindergarten, but on up through 12th grade, our technology is intentional,” Ross said.
Ross said after her original bill passed she heard concerns from parents about whether or not the bill would dictate what goes on in their homes. She said both bills only relate to instructional time in classrooms.
“It has nothing to do with what parents choose to do in their homes, but all to do with what happens in public schools and in places that receive public funds,” she said.
The bill was not on Tuesday’s House agenda as of Friday afternoon. There are seven legislative days left in the 2026 regular session.
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Author: Andrea Tinker