Beyond Screen-Time Bans: Student Safety in the Age of AI

School districts are reaching a turning point in how they manage classroom technology.

After years of rapid device adoption and policies that often responded to one risk at a time, leaders are asking a harder question: How can schools protect students from cyberbullying, data theft, AI-enabled scams, distraction and online harm without cutting them off from the learning, creativity and connection technology can provide?

In this episode, Tricia speaks with Harrison Parker, Executive Vice President at Linewize, about the shift from reactive restrictions toward a more coordinated approach to student digital safety and well-being.

Harrison explains why this work cannot sit solely with a district's technology department. Effective digital safety connects IT leaders, educators, safeguarding teams, administrators, students and families. It also brings together prevention, early detection, intervention and education rather than treating each new platform or threat as a separate problem.

Their conversation examines three changes taking place across K–12 education:

• Moving beyond screen-time bans toward digital-health strategies that address distraction and burnout while preserving useful learning

• Replacing panic-driven AI bans with practical guardrails for privacy, safety and classroom use

• Managing the "3 PM hand-off" by helping families understand and supervise what happens on school-issued devices after students leave campus

Harrison also discusses how districts can identify concerning online behavior earlier, understand which applications students are actually using and give families greater visibility into children's digital experiences.

In this episode:

• Why banning the latest technology rarely provides a lasting solution

• What schools need to know about student screen time and app use