CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is proposing to limit the use of laptops, tablets, and other electronic devices in classrooms, emphasizing a return to traditional learning methods like books, paper, and handwriting.
Abbott held a roundtable with parents and educators in Corpus Christi on Thursday, building on what he described as the success of last year's cell phone ban in schools.
"Educators report that class participation and grades are up, and bullying and cyberbullying have gone down," Abbott said.
Abbott says technology should serve a specific purpose in the classroom rather than act as a time-filler.
"Technology should only be used for specific lessons and specific assessments, not as a substitute for teachers or other proven methods of learning," Abbott said.
Texas is currently ranked 34th in the nation for education. Abbott says the path to improvement starts with one key element.
"The most important element of delivering a good quality education is a great teacher in a classroom," Abbott said.
Parents at Thursday's roundtable said they notice a difference when their children engage with teachers rather than screens.
"They're not telling me about the games they played on their computers. They're telling me about the times that their teachers sat down and worked with them on the one-on-one time they get with their educator," a parent said.
The Texas Classroom Commission will work with educators, parents, and students to determine how much screen time is appropriate for each grade level, with the goal of improving Texas's national education ranking.
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