American Federation of Teachers urged schools nationwide to pull back on screen use for pre‑kindergarten through second grade, calling for a full ban on tablets and other devices. The union also warned against deploying AI chatbots in elementary classrooms, citing risks to social development and critical thinking in the youngest students in future learning today.

The call follows a recent shift by the Los Angeles Unified School District, which announced it would remove tablets for its youngest pupils and impose stricter screen‑time limits across all grades. Parents and health advocates have also pushed for a five‑year pause on generative AI tools like Gemini and ChatGPT in schools to safeguard development.

At the National Press Club, union president Randi Weingarten outlined a “devices down, eyes up, hands‑on” strategy, arguing that AI chatbots can offer students instant answers at the cost of problem‑solving skills. She criticized the Trump administration’s tech ties and called for an independent research consortium to study AI’s impact on learning for future policy.

Earlier this year, the union secured a $23 million grant from Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic to launch an AI Academy for teachers, a deal that sparked debate over teacher autonomy. Weingarten said the partners agreed in principle to safety and privacy standards, but warned that federal regulation must ultimately enforce them to protect student welfare.