State’s Education Department seeks $18M to educate students on risks of screen addiction
A South Carolina law that restricts how race and gender are taught in public schools is being challenged in a lawsuit filed by the Legal Defense Fund, which argues that the law suppresses free speech and infringes on students’ right to learn. (Credit: SCDOE)
(WCIV) — South Carolina’s Department of Education is asking for nearly $18 million to tell kids why they can’t – and shouldn’t – use their phones in school.
The state agency filed a budget request to state legislators ahead of the 2026 session, asking for funds to buy curriculum explaining the negative effects of screen time. The program, “Disconnect to Reconnect,” would work with Families Managing Media, Inc., known as “ScreenStrong,” an organization that helps parents and teachers prevent or reverse their children’s dependence on addictive screens.
The evidence is overwhelming: screen overuse is a root driver of the student mental health and absenteeism crises facing schools nationwide,” the department wrote in its budget request. “If we act now, South Carolina can lead the nation in reversing this trend, just as public education campaigns once helped turn the tide against smoking.”
The research yields mixed results when looking at the overall effects of screen time. Electronic books and learning-to-read applications have helped improve young children’s early reading skills and creative thinking capacities, according to research from the National Library of Medicine. However, studies have also demonstrated the negative effects of screen media use on a number of cognitive areas such as executive functioning, sensorimotor development, and academic outcomes.
Additionally, spending too much time on screens may cause emotional and behavioral problems in children, and those problems can lead to even more screen use, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
In the Lowcountry, several school districts have entered into full compliance with a phone-free school environment initiative from the state’s Department of Education. It was a decision that brought with it debate over school safety; however, several schools have labeled the program successful.
“This initiative builds on South Carolina’s Free to Focus policy, which limits in-school cell phone use, by extending our commitment beyond the classroom,” the budget request reads. “We will work with parents, educators, and community partners to reclaim students’ attention, restore genuine connection with peers and families, and strengthen the foundation for academic and behavioral well-being.”
If the state receives the funding, the program would be to deliver curriculum to all South Carolina students in grades 3-8 in the first year. That would be followed by students receiving a sustained initiative by serving grades 3 and 6 annually.
The request, if funded, would provide students in grades 3-5 with the Adventures of Super Brain book and coordinating materials. It will also give students in grades 6-8 with the Kids Brains Screens materials.
