Sherman ISD to hear from families as it reviews classroom screen use

By GvilleTX Newsroom

Sherman ISD plans to ask families about classroom device use before preparing recommendations that could include limits on students’ screen time, according to its Sept. 2, 2026, announcement. The district said the Sherman ISD Board of Trustees has made reducing unnecessary screen use through clearer instructional purposes a priority.

The review covers a district where each student has a school-provided device and each classroom has an interactive computer panel, according to Sherman ISD’s technology program description.

Sherman ISD says it wants teachers to have more opportunities to lead lessons directly and students to take a more active part in learning. Better instruction and classroom experiences are the intended outcomes, the announcement says.

Trustees are examining current practices with teachers and district leaders, according to the district. Administrators will assess how devices serve lessons, whether they work effectively, how much they are used and what value they offer. Students and teachers will also be asked for feedback before recommendations are developed. Any proposed screen-time limits would go to the board for consideration.

The effort follows changes to the board’s broader educational goals. In its March announcement, Sherman ISD reported unanimous trustee approval of a shorter set of goals covering academic progress, campus culture and relationships with families and the community. The academic goal sets an expectation that every student make at least a year’s learning progress annually.

Under Sherman’s existing device arrangements, iPads stay in classrooms serving early childhood through kindergarten. First- through sixth-graders use classroom Chromebooks; students become eligible to borrow Chromebooks for home use in seventh grade.

Gainesville ISD also makes school computers available for learning at home. Its Digital 1:1 program guidance says fifth- through 12th-graders receive a Chromebook with a power supply and case, and encourages using that equipment at home for instruction.

School-issued computers fall outside the definition of personal communication devices covered by Texas’s school-day restrictions, according to Texas Education Agency guidance. The state law requires school systems to prohibit students’ use of personal communication devices during the school day.

Sherman ISD says its restrictions on student cellphone use during lessons preceded that law by years. The district’s current Off & Off policy covers lunch and passing periods as well as instructional time.

State testing also involves school technology. The Texas Education Agency says legislation required state assessments to be administered online beginning in the 2022–2023 school year, allowing only limited exceptions.