{"id":99155,"date":"2026-02-12T11:34:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kcnonline.com\/wp\/?p=99155"},"modified":"2026-02-12T11:34:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:34:05","slug":"lawmakers-aim-to-limit-school-screen-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kcnonline.com\/wp\/2026\/02\/12\/lawmakers-aim-to-limit-school-screen-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers Aim to Limit School Screen Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

OKLAHOMA CITY \u2014 Bills that would limit screen time, boost physical education and require firearm safety training in public schools advanced past a key legislative committee on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House Common Education Committee unanimously passed House Bill 4358<\/a> that would allow no more than one hour of screen time each school day for elementary students. The bill\u2019s author, Rep. Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, said he expects to make further changes to the bill to allow a certain amount of screen time per class and to permit extra time for computer-based testing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know that our kids are most successful when they are in front, face-to-face with our well, well trained educators in Oklahoma,\u201d Moore said during the committee meeting. \u201cWe want to make sure we\u2019re getting as much time face-to-face as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virtual charter schools, which primarily teach online, would be exempt from the rule if it becomes law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legislation from Rep. Cynthia Roe, R-Lindsay, would more than double the minimum time elementary students must spend in physical education or an exercise program. HB 3288<\/a> would raise that minimum from 60 minutes to 150 minutes per week, not including recess time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill, which passed unanimously, also would prohibit recess from being withheld from elementary students as a form of punishment. The only exception is if a student exhibits \u201caggression or threatening behaviors.\u201d The child would be entitled to physical activity through another accommodation if denied recess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have an obesity epidemic. We have kids that are getting very little physical activity after school,\u201d Roe told the committee. \u201cI feel that if we can increase physical activity in some of these kids, we can improve behaviors in the classroom. We can improve test scores.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Districts would have to provide firearm safety training to students under HB 3312<\/a>, which passed a party-line vote of 9-2. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill from Rep. Ryan Eaves, R-Atoka, would require the training to be \u201cviewpoint neutral on political topics,\u201d such as gun violence, gun rights and the Second Amendment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training would partner with the Oklahoma State Department of Education to determine the earliest applicable age for such a training and to develop a curriculum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program would teach elementary-age children not to touch a found firearm and instead to tell an adult. The same advice would apply to training for students in middle and high schools, who also would be taught safe storage of firearms and school safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Families, but not schools, would have the option to opt out of the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All bills the committee passed will continue to the Education Oversight Committee for further review.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Nuria Martinez-Keel, Oklahoma Voice OKLAHOMA CITY \u2014 Bills that would limit screen time, boost physical education and require firearm safety training in public schools advanced past a key legislative committee on Wednesday. The House Common Education Committee unanimously passed House Bill 4358 that would allow no more than one hour of screen time each school day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8368],"tags":[8437],"class_list":["post-99155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-oknews","tag-oklahoma-legislature"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcnonline.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcnonline.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcnonline.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcnonline.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcnonline.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcnonline.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99155\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcnonline.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcnonline.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcnonline.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}