Baltimore County publishes device-use data at enterprise scale
For 108,000 students, Baltimore County reported average daily school-device use of 70–90 minutes in middle school and 75–100 minutes in high school. Grades 3–5 averaged 50–60 minutes; K–2 averaged about 30 minutes. A separate 344-district benchmark covering 2.8 million students found a 98-minute average. The district is developing screen-time and AI policies while reporting persistent filter circumvention.
Why it matters for leaders
Screen-time debates should be supported by grade, application, instructional purpose and time-of-day data—not fleet counts or login totals alone.
Cost, service, risk & adoption
Cost—telemetry, reporting and monitoring capacity. Service—data can identify low-value use and redundant applications. Risk—filter evasion and family distrust. Adoption—teacher discretion must be reconciled with consistent expectations.
Read the original sources
Summary and leadership analysis from the September 5–11, 2026 brief. The edition’s selection notes explain source access and evidence limitations.