The U.S. Department of Education announced new guidance to help states, school districts, educators, families, and education technology providers make informed decisions about the use of technology in classrooms. The guidance emphasizes that decisions about educational technology should remain primarily with states and local communities and encourages schools to prioritize instructional value over recreational engagement when selecting digital tools.
The Department’s Dear Colleague Letter advises education leaders to focus on evidence-based practices, educator judgment, transparency for families, and measurable student outcomes when implementing technology. It argues that technology should support learning goals rather than serve as a distraction and states that innovation should be accompanied by clear evidence of educational effectiveness.
The guidance outlines several principles for schools and technology providers. It recommends selecting tools with demonstrated learning benefits, regularly evaluating their effectiveness, and providing educators with appropriate training. It also encourages greater transparency regarding how technology is used, how much screen time students experience, and whether digital tools are contributing to meaningful learning outcomes. The Department further states that schools should discontinue tools that consistently fail to improve student learning.
To support decision-making, the Department suggests that every education technology product should be able to answer five questions: what learning problem it addresses, when it should be used, for whom it is appropriate, how long it should be used, and what evidence demonstrates its effectiveness. The guidance builds on earlier Department principles for responsible use of artificial intelligence and educational technology, including educator leadership, transparency, accessibility, ethical use, and protection of student data.
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