All activities Professional learning
Families sort everyday screen moments by purpose, learn in plain language what the Texas phone law does and doesn't cover, and start a family media agreement that fits their own home.
Families hear two messages about screens: "phones are banned at school now" and "kids use screens all day at school." Both are partly true, and the difference matters. In this ready-to-run session, facilitators sit with families as they sort everyday screen moments from school and home by purpose, hear what Texas HB 1481 (2025) does and doesn't cover, learn how the American Academy of Pediatrics' 2026 policy statement shifts the advice toward quality, context, and conversation, and start a family media agreement to finish at home. It stands alone or runs as one station inside a family night planned with the Designing a Family AI & Digital Citizenship Night activity. There is no "right" family here: the goal is conversation, not judgment.
Hook
Welcome families and say: "There's no family here doing screens wrong. Everyone is figuring this out, including us." Share one screen moment you liked this week (for example, a video call with a relative or a recipe you followed together). Then ask each family to tell their table one screen moment they liked. Children can go first. Offer the frame: "This week, a screen helped us ___."
Facilitator noteStarting with a positive moment is deliberate. Families who expect a lecture relax, and it sets up the big idea: screens aren't good or bad by themselves; purpose and context matter.
Explore
Each table gets the Handout A cards and a sorting mat. A family member reads a card aloud (including the picture description), and the table decides together which zone it belongs in: Making something, Learning or looking something up, Connecting with people, or Just watching or scrolling. Some cards fit two zones, and that's fine: put them on the line and say why. Facilitators sit with tables and use the notes on the card backs to ask questions, not give answers. Frame for families: "We put this one here because ___."
Facilitator noteListen for families discovering that school screen moments and home screen moments can land in the same zones. Say out loud that "just watching" is allowed: rest, fun, and togetherness count. The question is balance and what gets pushed out.
Model
Hold up Card 13 (phones put away at school) and read the first section of Handout B together. Say it plainly: "Texas HB 1481 (2025) required every school district to have a policy that stops students from using personal phones, smartwatches, and similar devices at school during the school day. It does not cover laptops or tablets the school gives students. Those are a separate question, and that question belongs to our district, so you're welcome to ask us about it." Mention the required exceptions: a student's IEP, 504, or similar plan, a doctor's directive for a medical need, and safety requirements.
Facilitator noteFamilies often assume the law limits all screen time at school. Be clear and calm. If a parent asks how many minutes students spend on school devices, don't guess: write it on the "Questions for our school" poster and follow up.
Model
Read the second section of Handout B together. Say: "The American Academy of Pediatrics' 2026 policy statement moves the advice beyond just counting hours. It asks families to think about quality (what kind of screen time), context (when, where, with whom), and conversation (talking about it together). It also points out that some apps and games are designed to keep us using them, which can crowd out sleep and moving our bodies. That's true for grown-ups too." Then point to the four zones: "Which zone do you want more of in your home? Which zone tends to take over at bedtime?"
Facilitator noteDon't give an hour limit and attribute it to the AAP; the 2026 statement's message is quality, context, and conversation. If families ask "how much is too much?", turn it back warmly: "That's what the Family Media Plan helps each family decide."
Create
Families start Handout C together. Children draw in the boxes while grown-ups write, or everyone talks and one person writes. Encourage families to include at least one screen use they value, one screen-free time or place, and one thing grown-ups will do too. Offer the frames on the handout. Say: "This is a start, not a contract. The American Academy of Pediatrics has a free Family Media Plan at HealthyChildren.org that helps you finish it at home, and it's on the back of Handout B."
Facilitator noteSome families will write a lot; some will draw one picture. Both count. Never collect or read the agreements; they belong to the family.
Reflect
Each family tells their table one thing they'll try this week. Then invite everyone to put a sticky note on the "Questions for our school" poster, especially about school-issued devices: what students do on them, which grades take them home, and how teachers decide when to use them. Promise a follow-up date and keep it.
Facilitator noteThe poster is your evidence. The questions families ask tell the campus what to explain better, in which languages.
The whole session is designed to run unplugged: paper cards, a hand-drawn mat, printed take-homes, and talk. It works in a cafeteria, a library, a church hall, or a community center with no Wi-Fi. The only screen-based piece, the AAP Family Media Plan, is something families finish at home, and Handout C works without it.
For a large group or a virtual family meeting, project the cards one at a time and have families vote by holding up one to four fingers for the zone, or use chat for the zone name. Share Handout B and C as translated PDFs in the district's family communication app. Post a QR code to the AAP Family Media Plan so families can open it on their own phone. Keep any digital poll anonymous and never collect family agreements.
Does it need a screen? This one is better unplugged: the evidence is the conversation at the table and the agreement a family takes home, and a screen would pull attention away from both. The digital path adds reach (families who can't attend) but not better learning.
What you should be able to see or collect if it worked.
Families sort screen moments by purpose, learn what HB 1481 covers, and start a family media agreement, extending balance and wellbeing learning into homes.
Within two weeks, answer every question on the "Questions for our school" poster in the family newsletter or at the next meeting, in the languages families use. Then ask one grade-level team to share one example of students creating (not just consuming) on school devices, so families see what purposeful use looks like.
