A year after Texas lawmakers pushed schools to ban students’ personal cell phones during the school day, Gov. Greg Abbott wants to further limit classroom screentime.
Abbott, who is running for reelection in November, outlined his hopes for new legislation to limit an overreliance on technology in schools during a news conference after a roundtable discussion with area educators on Aug. 13 at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi.
Local members of a new state teacher commission, former Teacher of the Year winners, superintendents and school board members attended.
“The new law will limit the use of devices like laptops, tablets and electronic devices in classrooms,” Abbott said. “It will emphasize physical materials like books and papers and handwriting,
as well as direct teacher instruction.”
Technology should be used only for specific purposes, Abbott said, not as a substitute for proven learning methods.
“Screens should support learning, not hinder it,” Abbott said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools nationwide invested in technology to ensure students kept learning even when they couldn’t come to class. Schools have continued to rely on technology, embedding screens in the classroom.
Corpus Christi Independent School District Board of Trustees President Dolly Gonzales Trolley thanked the governor for allowing the group to be part of the conversation on screentime in the classroom.
“It’s really important that ... we have our parents and educators as part of this conversation,” she said.
Texas lawmakers will convene for the 90th legislative session in January, crafting new state laws and policies through the spring.
Abbott recently announced the launch of the Texas Classroom Commission, a new group created to advise state education policy.
The purpose is to assist in improving Texas schools to be the best in the nation, Abbott said. The group of current and former public school educators, including two Nueces County educators, will create strategies to improve education.
Abbott said that Texas educators need strategies that can be implemented to improve reading and math performance across the state.
“The most important element of delivering a great-quality education is a great teacher in a classroom,” Abbott said.
Abbott said that the state’s Teacher Incentive Allotment program, which offers additional pay to teachers based on student success, has contributed to retaining quality educators and that he intends to see the program grow.
Abbott also touted increases in state education funding during remarks to media after the Aug. 13 meeting with local educators.
But the extra dollars came after years of inflation and rising costs for schools.
When Corpus Christi ISD teachers and students came back for the 2026-27 school year on Aug. 11, the district had seven fewer campuses than when the last school year ended. The decision to close the schools was made after years of deficit budgets, with district leaders citing financial factors.
Nonprofit Our Schools Our Democracy, which advocates for public schools, has counted more than 170 campuses approved or announced for closure across Texas from 2023-24 to 2026-27.
Asked by the Caller-Times if closing schools factor in his plans for state education policy, Abbott said they don’t. Abbott pointed to demographics changes to explain school closures.
“Funding for schools in Texas is tied largely to attendance of children,” Abbott said. “If there are fewer children attending a particular school, then there’s less funding for that particular school and that leads to the closures of some schools.”
But in other areas, new schools are being built, Abbott said.
Ahead of the last legislative session, Abbott advocated for the creation of a state education savings account program, culminating in the Texas Education Freedom Account program. The program offers public state funding to selected families to pay for private or home school education costs.
In a previous legislative session, efforts to increase public education funding failed after being tied to school voucher plans.
Olivia Garrett reports on education and community news in South Texas. Contact her at olivia.garrett@caller.com.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Too much classroom tech? Abbott visits Corpus Christi, talks education
