In September, the Tigard-Tualatin School District (TTSD) School Board reviewed recent moves to reduce students’ screen time in the classroom. The updates were inspired by a summer screen time work group, which said it wished the district would go further.
“I believe this issue is existential for public schools,” said TTSD parent and work group committee member Erin Lima at an Aug. 31 board meeting. “We know what works: people, paper and pencils.”
The committee–composed of district parents who met throughout May, June, and July–aims to replace tech-based instruction with analog learning across all district schools under the mission statement “pencil, paper and people.”
“It all started with me, to be honest,” TTSD parent Lindsey Voorhees told Tigard Life. “It wasn’t being looked at with urgency, or with regard to research on neuroscience and learning.”
Voorhees said she and five other members “spent a lot of time and energy” assembling policies to regulate handheld device access and prohibit artificial intelligence. At meetings on Aug. 31, Sept. 14, and Sept. 28, these measures were unsuccessfully recommended for adoption by TTSD Board Member Crystal Weston.
Other board members supported continuing discussions on the topic, but felt implementing a binding, district-wide policy immediately would be an overstep.
Following the failed Aug. 31 motion, Voorhees and Weston drafted another proposal titled the “Edutech Guardrail Policy.” The document recommended that TTSD schools reduce reliance on handheld devices, ban smartphones, restrict access to certain websites, mandate non-digital homework, and place a one-year moratorium on student access to artificial intelligence.
At the Sept. 14 meeting, Board Member Dr. Kristen Miles explained that while she appreciated the committee’s work, the board needed to continue reviewing implementation strategies.
“Taking time to understand an issue is not the same as failing to act,” Miles said. “I am not prepared to support a significant directive in this moment without first understanding its implications for students, staff and the system.”
Weston countered, arguing that the board should take the lead within the state: “If we know better, it’s time to do better.”
Other board members echoed Miles, cautioning that directing administrative operations exceeded the board’s role.
“It’s not our place at all as a board to direct the district on how to do that,” Board Member Tristan Irvin said. “I think every single person up here is committed to doing that work, it just will be a little bit longer in terms of doing that end game if that’s the policy.”
TTSD Deputy Superintendent Jeremiah Patterson told Tigard Life that, despite the board not adopting the formal recommendations, the district has already begun implementing several of the work group’s ideas.
“There’s a range of implementation from things that are already in place to things that will take place,” Patterson said. “Turning off access to YouTube, for example, at the middle level, was something we already had in place in preschool through fifth grade, but made a lot of sense and was easy for everyone to adopt and adapt to right away.”
Patterson noted that steps like restricting middle-school YouTube access and removing “gamified” learning software are already underway. However, larger initiatives–such as replacing take-home iPads with classroom-bound Chromebooks–face longer timelines due to cost and supply chain constraints.
Voorhees acknowledged the district’s current progress, but emphasized that a binding board commitment is necessary to guarantee broader, lasting reform.
“This is a really significant initiative and not a small one, and it’s one that absolutely warrants policy,” Voorhees said.
On Sept. 28, Weston introduced a policy motion for the third time, which again failed.
While no formal policy was enacted, board members expressed interest in drafting a resolution that outlines their shared commitment to responsible classroom technology use. The board is expected to introduce the resolution at its next meeting on Oct. 12.
