To Our
Members
But we can’t stop there.
For years, schools were told that more technology would lead to better learning. More devices. More apps. More screen time. More data.
The promise was that all of it would help students succeed.
Today, we have enough evidence to ask a hard question: Did it?
Last year, New York became the largest state in the nation to adopt a bell-to-bell cellphone policy. You’ve seen what happened next. Classrooms became calmer. Students started talking to one another again. Teachers spent less time competing with screens and more time teaching.
That experience reinforced something many educators have been saying for years: technology is a tool, not a strategy.
The next challenge is the technology already sitting in our classrooms and the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence.
AI is moving into tutoring programs, writing tools, grading systems and countless other products being marketed to schools. At the same time, researchers continue to raise concerns about excessive screen time, declining attention spans and the impact of digital-first learning on student development.
That doesn’t mean technology has no place in education. It does. But we need to stop pretending that every new product is progress simply because it’s digital.
In May, NYSUT’s Board of Directors adopted a resolution that puts students, not technology companies, at the center of these decisions.
The resolution begins by calling for no one-to-one device use for students in pre-K through second grade, a paper-and-pencil testing option for every student, and limits on how artificial intelligence tools are used, including a ban on social companion chatbots for children under 16.
These are not radical ideas. They are common-sense guardrails rooted in a simple belief: children learn best through human connection.
This isn’t about being anti-technology. It’s about asking a simple question: Is this helping children learn, or is it helping someone sell another product?
Educators see every day what helps students thrive: strong relationships, meaningful discussion, real books, hands-on experiences and caring adults who know their students well.
We learned an important lesson from the cellphone debate. Just because technology can be placed in front of children doesn’t mean it should be.
Technology should support learning, not replace it. It should strengthen relationships, not weaken them. And it should serve students, not corporate interests.
As we look ahead, NYSUT will continue fighting to ensure that decisions about technology in our schools are driven by what is best for children, not what is most profitable for someone else.
Thank you for all you do for New York’s students, families and communities. Have a safe, restful and well-deserved summer.
In solidarity,
@MelindaJPerson
MelindaJPerson