Alabama House bill in Session 2026RS.
Status: enacted. Latest action: March 4, 2026.
Early childhood education; guidelines for limited screen time for children in certain licensed child-care facilities, certain preschools, and public kindergarten established, annual training requirement for teachers and certain staff members established, Department of Early Childhood Education, Department of Human Resources, and State Board of Education authorized to implement and enforce limited screen time requirements.
This act is the Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act. This act adds Article 4 to Chapter 24, Title 26, and Sections 16-40-15 and 38-7-7.1 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to: (1) require the Department of Early Childhood Education, State Department of Human Resources, and State Department of Education to collaboratively develop screen time guidelines for children under six years of age, screen time standards for early childhood education programs, and teacher and staff training on these standards; (2) provide requirements for using screen-based media in early childhood education programs; (3) require relevant state agencies to implement and monitor the guidelines and training for early childhood education programs under their jurisdiction; (4) require by the 2027-2028 school year that each local board of education adopt a kindergarten screen time policy; and (5) condition the licensure of certain child-care facilities upon adopting a compliant screen time policy.
| Date | Event | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-13 | Introduced | Bill introduced |
| 2026-03-04 | Status | enacted |
| 2026-03-04 | Latest Action | Enacted |