NYC Council holding hearing on screen time and use of digital devices in schools, tell me about this news in (https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nyc-council-screen-time-digital-devices-public-schools-hearing/)

The New York City Council is holding an oversight hearing to question the Department of Education regarding screen time, artificial intelligence, and the widespread use of digital devices in public school classrooms.Key details from the report include:

• Push to Reduce Screen Time: Council members, specifically Shekar Krishnan and Eric Dinowitz, are urging the Department of Education to scale back classroom screen time. They argue that available evidence does not demonstrate that increased device usage improves student learning.
• Targeting YouTube and Free Browsing: Following earlier state-level bell-to-bell bans on cellphones, council members are now focusing on platforms like YouTube. They are calling for students to be blocked from freely accessing YouTube on school-issued devices, while asking the department to require demonstrated educational justification when videos are used in instruction.
• Findings on Student Achievement: A 28-page briefing report released by the City Council cites years of research and audits concluding that more screen time and digital devices do not reliably boost academic performance. Council members are also re-evaluating one-to-one device programs for younger learners and questioning whether certain exams should return to pencil and paper.
• Device Management and Pandemic Spending: The report highlights that during the pandemic, the Department of Education spent $287 million to purchase 511,000 iPads, alongside roughly $4 million per month for data service. A subsequent audit by the city comptroller’s office discovered a lack of a central tracking system, leading to issues such as more than 3,000 instances where students were issued multiple iPads.
• Public Demonstrations: Ahead of the hearing, council members joined parents and teachers for a rally outside City Hall to voice concerns over screen exposure and technology policies in city schools.