In March 2026, I emailed all 19 House sponsors of Alabama’s Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act, which limits screen-based instruction in licensed childcare facilities and early childhood classrooms (through kindergarten). I included a policy brief arguing that those limits should extend through fifth grade. Three days later, Representative Jeana Ross introduced House Bill 584 and invited me to review and comment on the draft language.
Below is how that bill has unfolded so far. You can read all of my policy briefs on SSRN.
Alabama House Bill 584: Screen-Based Instruction in Elementary Schools
The bill limits screen-based instruction in grades K–5, requires the State Board of Education to adopt standards, and establishes an Elementary Instructional Technology Task Force. View the bill on LegiScan.
March 2, 2026: I emailed the sponsors of the Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act with my policy brief, urging them to extend screen-time limits to all elementary grades. Rep. Ross drafted HB 584 in response and asked me to review the draft language.
March 5, 2026: HB 584 is introduced, read for the first time, and referred to the House Committee on Education Policy.
March 12, 2026: With strong bipartisan support, the bill is amended to extend screen-time limits from K–5 to all grades K–12.
April 9, 2026: The legislative session ends before HB 584 reaches a final vote.
July 2, 2026: Although the bill has not yet passed, Governor Kay Ivey issues Executive Order No. 745, creating the Governor’s Commission on Screen-Based Instruction and echoing the bill’s call for a statewide review. The commission’s final report will guide future K–12 screen-time legislation in Alabama.
Coming up (December 2026): Rep. Ross plans to prefile the bill so it is at the top of the docket for the 2027 legislative session.