New Jersey preschoolers will get no more than 15 minutes of screen time per school day under new state standards that cover all state-funded preschool programs.
The New Jersey State Board of Education unanimously approved the updated Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards on Oct. 7. The rule covers smartphones, tablets, computers and televisions. State-funded programs must comply by September 2028, but districts can adopt the limit now. Any state-funded preschool programs in Summit, New Providence or Berkeley Heights would fall under the new rule.
The cap is far stricter than what the state originally proposed. An earlier draft presented to the board in April would have allowed full-day preschoolers up to an hour of screen time and half-day students up to 30 minutes, Patch reported. The final version sets 15 minutes for all preschoolers regardless of schedule length.
New Jersey previously had no limit on preschool screen time, according to NJ.com.
The standards say the 15 minutes should be broken into "short, intentional periods." Screens cannot be used as a reward for meeting classroom goals. The policy states that technology should be "integrated into learning experiences and not used continuously or as a substitute for active, hands-on, social, and play-based learning opportunities."
The board considered banning screens entirely for three- and four-year-olds earlier this year but dropped the idea. State officials said introducing technology to preschoolers prepares them for computer science skills in later grades, according to Patch.
Ellen Frede, a Rutgers University early childhood expert who was among those who told the state the original hour-long limit was excessive, told NJ.com that questions remain about allowing devices in preschool at all.
Kara Alaimo, a Fairleigh Dickinson University professor and part of the advocacy group Screens With Purpose, called the 15-minute cap "significant progress" but said she would prefer preschool classrooms be screen-free zones.
State officials also removed earlier draft recommendations that preschoolers learn to use keyboards, create digital books and operate specific devices, according to Katrina McCombs, the state's chief early childhood education officer, as reported by NJ.com.
The preschool rule arrives as Summit pursues its own screen-reduction efforts for older students. Summit Superintendent Scott Hough told TAPintoSummit in October, as cited by the Summit High School student newspaper, "This is not about removing technology from learning. It's about using it with purpose."
That comment referred to Summit's update of Policy 5516, which enforces the state's bell-to-bell phone ban and reduces technology use in high school classrooms. The preschool standards are a separate state initiative targeting three- and four-year-olds statewide.
