San Diego Unified limits YouTube and gaming on student devices

San Diego Unified is changing how students use school devices after the Board of Education approved a learner-centered technology resolution on June 23. The first rollout begins Aug. 10, the first day of the 2026-27 school year.

The district’s initial changes are specific, not sweeping. YouTube and other video-streaming platforms will be blocked on 1:1 student devices unless educators turn them on for a lesson. Non-instructional gaming platforms will also be blocked on those devices. In transitional kindergarten, computer carts will be removed from classrooms.

San Diego Unified says the policy is meant to reduce passive screen time while still keeping technology available when it supports learning. The district has also said students with Individualized Education Plans, Section 504 accommodations, or linguistic needs will still be able to get device access.

What families should expect next

The August rollout is only the first step. During the 2026-27 school year, the district plans to build age-appropriate guidance for device use, set limits on Chromebook access outside established timeframes, expand family resources and parent controls, strengthen digital citizenship instruction, review instructional software each year, and keep evaluating emerging technology, including artificial intelligence.

That means the practical changes may differ by grade level and classroom. Teachers will still be able to use video tools when they serve a lesson, but the default setting will be tighter than before. Families should also watch for district guidance on home-device rules and the parent-control tools the district says it will expand.

Why it matters locally

For San Diego families, the biggest near-term change is that school device use will look different when classes resume in August. TK classrooms will feel the shift first because the computer carts are coming out. Older students will still use school technology, but with more limits on streaming and non-school gaming.

District leaders framed the resolution as a way to make technology more purposeful in class rather than constant. The open question now is how smoothly those rules will work once schools start applying them day to day.

Sources

• San Diego Unified School District Board Action Summary, June 23, 2026
• San Diego Unified School District: Action to Reduce Screen Time
• KPBS: San Diego Unified leaders propose policy to limit technology in classrooms