More than 100 parents, educators and experts packed the Wilson Building on Oct. 9 to tell D.C. Council members how technology should be used in District classrooms.
The Committee of the Whole hearing, chaired by Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, drew testimony on screen time, artificial intelligence and student privacy, as first reported by WUSA9. Speakers split sharply over whether the District needs citywide rules or should let individual schools decide.
Parents from Payne Elementary School submitted a list of demands, according to WUSA9. They called for binding grade-level screen-time limits that count homework, a staff member at each school to track total screen use, annual public reporting on platforms like i-Ready, an auditing mechanism with consequences for noncompliance, device-free before- and aftercare, and a written ban on AI chatbots on student devices.
Simon Rodberg, executive director of Lee Montessori Public Charter Schools, pushed back. In written testimony, Rodberg argued that citywide restrictions would limit schools' ability to choose the instructional methods they consider best for their students, including what he called "the thoughtful and limited use of i-Ready and other technology," WUSA9 reported.
The divide reflects a broader tension in D.C. education. Parent advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens DC, which formed in the spring, has collected more than 1,500 signatures on a petition calling for evidence-based technology policies, according to the Washington Informer. Volunteer Maya Mechenbier, a Ward 3 parent of two DC Public Schools (DCPS) students, said the group wants a pause on AI tutoring products, the Informer reported.
But the push for limits alarmed some families east of the Anacostia River. Ana Rodriguez, a DCPS parent and member of Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE), told the Council that device access must come before regulation. "Before we put regulation, we first have to have access," Rodriguez said, according to WUSA9.
D.C. State Board of Education Rep. LaJoy Johnson-Law of Ward 8 echoed that concern. She said the screen-time debate risks overlooking students who still lack reliable devices, the Informer reported. Johnson-Law said the top issues she hears from Ward 8 families are safety, attendance and grade-level reading and math.
The hearing followed months of friction over DCPS's contract with Curriculum Associates, which provides the i-Ready diagnostic and instruction platform. Councilmember Christina Henderson (I-At Large) introduced and later withdrew a resolution that would have blocked the contract, East of the River DC News reported. Henderson said school-system data showed 17 schools exceeded DCPS's recommended 30-to-45-minute weekly i-Ready usage per subject.
DCPS has since issued new elementary school technology guidelines emphasizing books, writing, discussion and hands-on activities as the primary focus during instruction, the Informer reported. Deputy Chancellor Drewana Bey told parents on Sept. 1 that teachers would preview and select video content through approved ad-free pathways rather than giving students direct access to YouTube.
Charter schools operate under no single technology policy. Each charter organization sets its own rules, and no comprehensive public accounting lets families compare screen use across the sector, East of the River DC News reported.
The D.C. State Board of Education is separately drafting a resolution on technology-use standards, led by Ward 7 Rep. Eboni-Rose Thompson, the Informer reported. No follow-up legislation or next steps from the Council have been announced since the Oct. 9 hearing.
