Pupils: technology-based materials: school-issued electronic devices.

The State Department of Education's obligation changed from 'develop and post model policies for the age-appropriate use of school-issued electronic devices in schools' to 'curate and maintain resources for age-appropriate screen time and electronic device use in schools and guidance on how to transition take-home school-issued electronic devices into dedicated classroom-based electronic devices and how to participate in e-waste recycling or buy-back programs.' This is a broader, ongoing obligation rather than a one-time policy development task.

The consideration factor for early development impact was expanded from 'the impact of school-issued electronic devices on early literacy, arithmetic, and fine motor skill development' to 'the impact of school-issued electronic devices and screen time on early literacy, arithmetic, and fine motor skill development,' explicitly adding screen time as a separate consideration.

Assembly Member Wicks was added as principal co-author of the bill.

The entire amendment to Section 48901.8 is deleted. This removes the bill's provisions authorizing school districts to adopt social media restriction policies and to establish 'Wait Until 8th' programs encouraging parents and pupils to delay social media use until grade 8.

Three new exceptions are added to the prohibition on requiring kindergarten pupils to take home school-issued electronic devices: (1) when required by a pupil's individualized education program, (2) during a local or state emergency that interferes with in-person attendance, and (3) pursuant to an independent study program.

A new subsection encourages local educational agencies to regularly review and update their screen time policies, solicit input from teachers, administrators, parents, pupils, and other stakeholders, and consider seven factors including financial costs, tech support capacity, monitoring ability at home, equity implications, and safety risks such as data privacy and exposure to harmful content.

The State Department of Education's obligation is expanded from simply developing model policies to doing two things: (1) developing model policies (with 'developmentally appropriate screen exposure time' refined to 'time at each grade level'), and (2) providing guidance and resources to five or more LEAs in a pilot program to remove take-home devices, including transition guidance, procurement pathways for charging carts, offline homework models, professional development, communication templates, and responsible use policy templates.

The fiscal committee vote changes from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the Assembly amendment now triggers a state-mandated local program or fiscal impact requiring fiscal committee review.

New Section 60077 added to the Education Code, expanding the bill's scope beyond social media restrictions to also cover school-issued electronic devices for kindergarten students.

Starting with the 2027-28 school year, local educational agencies (school districts, county offices of education, charter schools) are prohibited from requiring kindergarten pupils, including transitional kindergarten, to take home a school-issued electronic device. They may still authorize it.

Model policies must consider: developmentally appropriate screen exposure time, balancing device use with direct teacher interaction, and impact on early literacy, arithmetic, and fine motor skill development.

The State Department of Education must develop and post model policies on its website by July 1, 2027 for the age-appropriate use of school-issued electronic devices in schools.

New definitions added for 'electronic device' (desktop or laptop computer, handheld device, tablet, smartphone, or other electronic product with a platform to run software), 'kindergarten' (includes transitional kindergarten as defined in Section 48000), and 'local educational agency' (school district, county office of education, or charter school).

Fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the amendment now requires a state fiscal impact analysis.