S 10685: Enacts the "fostering optimal classroom use of screens (FOCUS) act" to limit use of internet enabled and electronic devices and prioritize non-digital teaching methods; prohibits use by younger students; limits and restricts certain uses by older students; requires written policies for opting in for the school issued devices; prohibits social media applications, gaming and AI in school issued devices; requires registration by educational technology providers.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10685  IN SENATE August 21, 2026 ___________ Introduced by Sens. GOUNARDES, BAILEY, SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the "foster- ing optimal classroom use of screens (FOCUS) act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "fostering 2 optimal classroom use of screens (FOCUS) act". 3 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new article 2-B to read 4 as follows: 5 ARTICLE 2-B 6 FOCUS ACT 7 Section 30. Definitions. 8 31. Screen time limitations. 9 32. Right to analog learning. 10 33. Standards for school-issued devices. 11 34. Prohibited practices. 12 35. Educational technology registry. 13 36. Updated learning standards. 14 37. Construction. 15 38. Rulemaking. 16 39. Enforcement. 17 § 30. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following 18 terms shall have the following meanings: 19 1. "AI companion" shall mean as defined in subdivision four of section 20 seventeen hundred of the general business law. 21 2. "Artificial intelligence" shall mean as defined in subdivision one 22 of section seventeen hundred of the general business law. 23 3. "Caregiver" shall mean a pupil's parent, legal guardian, or person 24 in parental relation to a pupil. 25 4. "Caregiver opt-in" shall mean when a caregiver has given clear, 26 unambiguous, and informed consent to a school. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD16298-02-6 
 S. 10685 2 1 5. "Computer lab or cart model" shall mean when a set of stationary or 2 mobile internet-enabled or electronic devices are routinely accessed by 3 different pupils for a fixed amount of time under supervision of a 4 teacher or other school personnel for an academic purpose on school 5 grounds. "Computer lab or cart model" does not include one-to-one 6 devices. 7 6. "Computer science and digital fluency learning standards" shall 8 mean the computer science education standards required under part R of 9 chapter fifty-six of the laws of two thousand eighteen which were 10 promulgated by the department and approved by the board of regents. 11 7. "Conversational artificial intelligence" or "conversational AI" 12 shall mean a class of artificial intelligence models whose primary 13 purpose is to stimulate human conversation with a user through verbal 14 communication. 15 8. "Device provider" shall mean a person, business, or other legal 16 entity that provides an electronic device to a school for use by a pupil 17 in a school setting. 18 9. "Digital citizenship" shall mean a diverse set of skills that 19 allows a user to navigate modern technology and the internet, including 20 the norms of appropriate, responsible, and healthy user behavior. 21 10. "Educational technology" shall mean a software application, 22 website, or online service that is intended to be used by pupils for 23 educational purposes within a school setting. 24 11. "Educational technology provider" shall mean a person, business, 25 or other legal entity that provides educational technology to a school 26 or user. 27 12. "Gaming platform" shall mean any software application, website, or 28 online service that enables a user to create, control, manipulate, or 29 interact with a digital game or immersive digital gaming environment. 30 "Gaming platform" shall not include educational technology as defined in 31 subdivision ten of this section. 32 13. "Generative artificial intelligence" or "generative AI" shall mean 33 as defined in subdivision two of section seventeen hundred of the gener- 34 al business law. 35 14. "Internet-enabled device" shall mean any smartphone, tablet, 36 smartwatch, or other hardware device capable of connecting to the Inter- 37 net. 38 15. "Media" shall have the same meaning as set forth in subdivision 39 five of section fifteen hundred of the general business law. 40 16. "Media literacy" shall mean the ability to critically analyze 41 information presented in digital and mass media, including the ability 42 to investigate such media's origins, credibility, and accuracy, the 43 intended purpose of such media, the likely influence of such media on 44 user behavior, and the likely impact of such media on user health. 45 17. "Messaging platform" shall mean any software application, website, 46 or online service that enables a user to publicly or privately message 47 other internet users. "Messaging platform" shall not include an educa- 48 tional technology platform that allows a user to message or interact 49 with fellow pupils, teachers, or school personnel within the context of 50 the educational purpose of such platform. 51 18. "One-to-one" shall mean when a school issues a pupil their own 52 dedicated internet-enabled or electronic device for personal use. "One- 53 to-one" shall not include devices accessed in a computer lab or cart 54 model. 
 S. 10685 3 1 19. "Operating system" shall mean the system software that manages the 2 hardware of an internet-enabled or electronic device and allows programs 3 and applications to run on such device. 4 20. "Operator" shall mean any person, partnership, association, firm, 5 or business entity, or any member, affiliate, subsidiary or beneficial 6 owner thereof, who provides a software application, website, or online 7 service to a user. 8 21. "Personally identifiable information" shall mean as defined in 9 paragraph d of subdivision one of section two-d of this title. 10 22. "School" shall mean school districts, charter schools, and boards 11 of cooperative educational services. 12 23. "School grounds" shall mean as defined in paragraph (c) of subdi- 13 vision one of section twenty-eight hundred three of this chapter. 14 24. "School setting" shall refer to the use of an internet-enabled or 15 electronic device by a pupil to complete an educational assignment, 16 assessment, activity, or other official school task, regardless of 17 whether such pupil is physically located on school grounds at the time 18 of such use. 19 25. "School-issued device" shall mean any internet-enabled or elec- 20 tronic device, as defined in subdivision fifteen of this section, that a 21 school provides to an individual pupil for use in a school setting. 22 26. "Significant modification" and variations thereof shall mean when 23 an educational technology provider makes an update to such provider's 24 educational technology that materially changes its functionality, 25 purpose, performance, or ability to comply with any of the registration 26 requirements of subdivision two of section thirty-five of this article. 27 27. "Social media platform" shall mean as defined in subdivision five 28 of section eleven hundred of the general business law. 29 28. "Synthetic content" shall mean media that has been digitally 30 created or altered by artificial intelligence. 31 29. "User" shall mean a user of a software application, website, or 32 online service or device that is not acting as an operator or the agent 33 or affiliate of an operator of such application, website, or service. 34 § 31. Screen time limitations. Each school shall adopt a written poli- 35 cy limiting access to internet-enabled and electronic devices as 36 follows: 37 1. For pre-kindergarten through grade five, such policy shall stipu- 38 late that the school shall provide no school-issued devices to pupils 39 and shall generally prohibit access by such pupils to internet-enabled 40 and electronic devices otherwise available on school grounds. 41 2. For grades six through eight, pupils shall be allowed to access 42 school-issued devices using only a computer lab or cart model. Such 43 device use shall be actively supervised by school personnel. 44 3. (a) For grades nine through twelve, schools may provide pupils: 45 (i) school-issued devices under a computer lab or cart model; and 46 (ii) one-to-one school-issued devices with caregiver opt-in. 47 Provided, however, that if a school wishes to provide a pupil with 48 such one-to-one device for use at a location other than school grounds 49 such as the pupil's home, the school must obtain separate caregiver 50 opt-in for such off-premises use. 51 (b) Provided, further, that at the time a school seeks caregiver opt- 52 in for a one-to-one device, the school shall provide such caregiver 53 with: 54 (i) a description of the device; 
 S. 10685 4 1 (ii) a detailed list and description of the software applications 2 downloaded on such device and how the pupil will be expected to use such 3 applications; 4 (iii) any platforms, applications, or features that have been blocked 5 from such device, as provided in section thirty-three of this article; 6 and 7 (iv) a description of the alternative analog methods that a school 8 shall provide for completing assignments under section thirty-two of 9 this article. 10 § 32. Right to analog learning. 1. For pre-kindergarten through grade 11 eight, homework assignments shall not require access to the internet, an 12 internet-enabled or electronic device, or educational technology. For 13 grades nine through twelve, teachers shall minimize the requirement for 14 pupils to access the internet, an internet-enabled or electronic device, 15 or educational technology by structuring the assignments in such a way 16 that pupils can complete assignments by alternative non-digital means 17 wherever feasible. 18 2. Teachers shall prioritize non-digital teaching methods for in-class 19 instruction over digital methods wherever feasible and shall attempt to 20 minimize the need for school-issued devices in the classroom. 21 3. (a) Schools shall adopt a written policy stipulating that caregiv- 22 ers, prior to the commencement of the school year, shall be provided a 23 specific list and description of: 24 (i) the school-issued devices that will be disbursed to pupils in the 25 coming school year; 26 (ii) any hardware components that may accompany such devices; 27 (iii) all software applications that such devices will be equipped 28 with and how pupils will be expected to use such applications; 29 (iv) a general description of the findings of the latest medical and 30 sociological research from government publications and peer-reviewed 31 scholarly articles on the impacts on youth of excessive screen time, 32 educational technology, AI companions, generative AI, conversational AI, 33 and other relevant information, as such findings have been provided to 34 the school by the department. The information described in subpara- 35 graphs (i) through (iii) of this paragraph shall also be published in a 36 clear and conspicuous location on a school's website. 37 (b) (i) The written policy shall detail a process by which a pupil, or 38 a caregiver on behalf of their child pupil, can refuse to use a school- 39 issued device in order to complete an activity, assignment, assessment, 40 or other task where a reasonably alternative non-digital method for 41 completing such activity, assignment, assessment, or task exists. Such 42 right of refusal shall include the right to prepare for standardized 43 tests or other mandatory local, state, or federal assessments via non- 44 digital means as well as to complete such tests or assessments them- 45 selves via non-digital means. 46 (ii) This paragraph shall not apply to activities, assignments, 47 assessments, or tasks where the use of the school-issued device or other 48 related technology is inherent to the learning objective of the activ- 49 ity, assignment, assessment, or task, including activities, assignments, 50 assessments, and tasks undertaken pursuant to the computer science and 51 digital fluency learning standards. 52 4. Schools shall be barred from penalizing or retaliating against any 53 pupil who has exercised or whose caregiver has exercised their rights 54 under subdivision three of this section. 55 § 33. Standards for school-issued devices. 1. No school may distribute 56 any school-issued device to a pupil that contains, either embedded in 
 S. 10685 5 1 the operating system of the device or as part of an application that may 2 be downloaded onto or integrated with such device: 3 (a) A social media platform; 4 (b) A gaming platform; 5 (c) A messaging platform; 6 (d) An AI companion; 7 (e) Generative artificial intelligence; 8 (f) Conversational artificial intelligence, provided, however, that 9 nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit conversational 10 artificial intelligence that is deployed as an assistive technology for 11 a user with disabilities; or 12 (g) A hardware camera. 13 Such school shall further ensure that a device is unable to download 14 or integrate with any of the online services described in paragraphs (a) 15 through (f) of this subdivision prior to the distribution of such 16 school-issued device to a pupil. 17 2. School-issued devices and any applications downloaded or integrated 18 with such devices shall only display instructional media. Such devices 19 and applications shall not allow pupils to search for media that is 20 unrelated to the instructional content and purpose of the application. 21 § 34. Prohibited practices. In addition to the requirements of section 22 thirty-three of this article, school personnel shall be prohibited from 23 utilizing a social media platform, as defined in subdivision twenty-sev- 24 en of section thirty of this article, for official school correspondence 25 with a pupil. Pupils shall not be required to create an account on a 26 social media platform in order to participate in any classroom activ- 27 ities, group discussions, assignments, tests, or other official business 28 conducted by a school. 29 § 35. Educational technology registry. 1. All educational technology 30 providers intending to offer such provider's educational technology to a 31 school in this state shall register with the attorney general as 32 described in subdivision two of this section. Such registry shall be 33 published online in a clear and conspicuous manner, and copies of such 34 registry shall be provided to schools and caregivers upon request. 35 2. In registering, an educational technology provider must self-at- 36 test: 37 (a) That such provider's educational technology is designed for 38 instructional use at the grade level of the pupils that will be using 39 such technology; 40 (b) That such provider has published clear and accessible product 41 information about such provider's educational technology in a manner 42 that a person at a seventh grade reading level can comprehend; 43 (c) That such provider is able to meet the requirements of section 44 two-d of this title, section 1232-g of title 20 of the United States 45 code, the family educational rights and privacy act, chapter 91 of title 46 15 of the United States code, the children's online privacy protection 47 act, and all implementing regulations for such statutes; 48 (d) That the provider is able to meet the requirements of any contract 49 or written agreement that the provider would enter into with an educa- 50 tional agency, as required in section two-d of this title; 51 (e) That such provider's educational technology is capable of prevent- 52 ing the download of, installment of, or integration with the prohibited 53 online services and components described in paragraphs (a) through (g) 54 of subdivision one of section thirty-three of this article; 
 S. 10685 6 1 (f) That such provider's educational technology does not allow users 2 to search for media that is unrelated to the instructional content and 3 underlying purpose of the educational technology; 4 (g) That such provider's educational technology does not include 5 features that would reduce a user's focus or distract from the instruc- 6 tional goal of the educational technology; and 7 (h) That such provider's educational technology has been proven in at 8 least one independent study to lead to improved academic performance in 9 users related to specific curriculum objectives. 10 Providers must further notify the attorney general of any significant 11 modifications to such provider's educational technology and shall be 12 required to re-register such modified versions of the technology on the 13 registry created under this section. 14 3. Schools may only offer, deploy, or provide educational technology 15 to a pupil that is included in the registry. 16 4. The attorney general shall, in conjunction with the commissioner, 17 regularly review and update the registration requirements under this 18 section as needed. 19 5. The attorney general may require providers to pay a registration 20 fee to defray the operating expenses, including all direct and indirect 21 costs, of administering the registry and certification process created 22 by this section. 23 6. (a) The attorney general shall maintain a website to receive 24 complaints, information, or referrals from members of the public 25 concerning an educational technology provider's alleged compliance or 26 noncompliance with the provisions of this article. 27 (b) Whenever the attorney general finds that an educational technology 28 provider has falsely attested that such provider meets the registration 29 requirements of subdivision two of this section, has failed to notify 30 the attorney general of a significant modification to such provider's 31 educational technology and that such modification has resulted in the 32 educational technology no longer meeting the registration requirements 33 of subdivision two of this section, or has otherwise intentionally 34 subverted the purpose of this section, the attorney general may bring an 35 action under section thirty-nine of this article. 36 § 36. Updated learning standards. 1. The commissioner shall recommend 37 an update of the computer science and digital fluency learning standards 38 approved by the board of regents in order that such standards may incor- 39 porate the following concepts: 40 (a) The potential physical and mental health consequences of excessive 41 time spent on internet-enabled or electronic devices for young users; 42 (b) The potential physical and mental health consequences of prolonged 43 use of social media platforms for young users, including any research- 44 supported correlations between prolonged use and anxiety, depression, 45 body dysmorphia, low self-esteem, disruptions in sleep patterns, changes 46 in cognitive development, analytical skills, contextual thinking, atten- 47 tion span, memory formation, and any other physical or behavioral 48 patterns; 49 (c) Best practices for how to safely navigate gaming platforms, social 50 media platforms, messaging platforms, and other software applications 51 that enable public or private communication between a minor and another 52 user; 53 (d) Digital citizenship; 54 (e) Media literacy, with a particular emphasis on such literacy in the 55 context of synthetic content; and 56 (f) Any other topic deemed relevant by the commissioner. 
 S. 10685 7 1 2. Within one year of the effective date of this article, the commis- 2 sioner shall provide updated draft model kindergarten through twelve 3 computer science and digital fluency learning standards to the board of 4 regents for approval. 5 § 37. Construction. 1. Nothing in this article shall be construed to 6 override or conflict with the provisions of section twenty-eight hundred 7 three of this chapter. 8 2. Nothing in this article shall constrain a school's ability to 9 provide or require the use of an internet-enabled device or other 10 related technology where such provision or use is inherent to the learn- 11 ing objective of an activity, assignment, assessment or task, including 12 any activities, assignments, assessments, or tasks that are undertaken 13 pursuant to computer science and digital fluency learning standards. 14 3. Nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit the use of a 15 school-issued device where such use is included in a pupil's individual- 16 ized education program or plan developed pursuant to section five 17 hundred four of the federal rehabilitation act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794, 18 or otherwise as an assistive tool to facilitate accessibility for users 19 with disabilities. 20 4. Nothing in this article shall constrain a school's ability to 21 provide or require the use of an internet-enabled or electronic device 22 or other related technology for translation services. 23 5. The provisions of this article supplement, and do not diminish or 24 replace, any other basis of liability or requirement established by 25 section two-d of this title or any other applicable state or federal 26 statute. 27 § 38. Rulemaking. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations estab- 28 lishing procedures to implement the provisions of this article. 29 § 39. Enforcement. Whenever it appears to the attorney general that 30 any educational technology provider or any device provider has knowingly 31 subverted the purposes of section thirty-three or thirty-five of this 32 article, and/or section two-d of this title, the attorney general may 33 bring an action or special proceeding in the name and on behalf of the 34 people of the state of New York to enjoin any violation of such section, 35 to obtain restitution of any moneys or property obtained directly or 36 indirectly by such violation including, but not limited to, the 37 destruction of unlawfully obtained data, to obtain damages caused 38 directly or indirectly by such violation, to obtain civil penalties of 39 up to fifteen thousand dollars per violation, and to obtain any other 40 and further relief as the court may deem proper, including preliminary 41 relief. 42 § 3. Paragraph k of subdivision 1 of section 2-d of the education law, 43 as added by section 1 of subpart L of part AA of chapter 56 of the laws 44 of 2014, is amended and seven new paragraphs l, m, n, o, p, q and r are 45 added to read as follows: 46 k. "Third party contractor" shall mean any person or entity, other 47 than an educational agency, that receives student data or teacher or 48 principal data from an educational agency pursuant to a contract or 49 other written agreement for purposes of providing services to such 50 educational agency, including but not limited to data management or 51 storage services, conducting studies for or on behalf of such educa- 52 tional agency, or audit or evaluation of publicly funded programs. Such 53 term shall include an educational partnership organization that receives 54 student and/or teacher or principal data from a school district to carry 55 out its responsibilities pursuant to section two hundred eleven-e of 56 this title and is not an educational agency as defined in paragraph c of 
 S. 10685 8 1 this subdivision, and a not-for-profit corporation or other non-profit 2 organization, other than an educational agency. Such term shall further 3 include educational technology providers and device providers. 4 l. "Process", "processing," and variations thereof shall mean as 5 defined in subdivision five of section eight hundred ninety-nine-ee of 6 the general business law. 7 m. "Educational technology provider" shall mean as defined in subdivi- 8 sion eleven of section thirty of this title. 9 n. "Device provider" shall mean as defined in subdivision eight of 10 section thirty of this title. 11 o. "User" shall mean as defined in subdivision twenty-nine of section 12 thirty of this title. 13 p. "Training artificial intelligence" shall mean developing, testing, 14 validating, or modifying an artificial intelligence model or service. 15 q. "Artificial intelligence" shall mean as defined in subdivision one 16 of section seventeen hundred of the general business law. 17 r. "Student user" shall refer to a student who is a user. 18 § 4. Paragraph c of subdivision 3 of section 2-d of the education law, 19 as added by section 1 of subpart L of part AA of chapter 56 of the laws 20 of 2014, is amended to read as follows: 21 c. The parents bill of rights for data privacy and security shall 22 include supplemental information for each contract an educational agency 23 enters into with a third party contractor where the third party contrac- 24 tor receives student data or teacher or principal data. Such supple- 25 mental information shall be developed by the educational agency and 26 shall include: 27 (1) the exclusive purposes for which the student data or teacher or 28 principal data will be used; 29 (2) how the third party contractor will ensure that the subcontrac- 30 tors, persons or entities that the third party contractor will share the 31 student data or teacher or principal data with, if any, will abide by 32 data protection and security requirements; 33 (3) when the agreement expires and what happens to the student data or 34 teacher or principal data upon expiration of the agreement; 35 (4) if and how a parent, student, eligible student, teacher or princi- 36 pal may challenge the accuracy of the student data or teacher or princi- 37 pal data that is collected; [and] 38 (5) where the student data or teacher or principal data will be stored 39 (described in such a manner as to protect data security), and the secu- 40 rity protections taken to ensure such data will be protected, including 41 whether such data will be encrypted[.]; and 42 (6) how a third party contractor that is an educational technology 43 provider or device provider will ensure that a student user's personally 44 identifiable information will be processed solely for the strictly 45 necessary purposes delineated in paragraph g of subdivision five of this 46 section. 47 § 5. Subdivision 5 of section 2-d of the education law is amended by 48 adding two new paragraphs g and h to read as follows: 49 g. In addition to the prohibition in paragraph f of subdivision four 50 of this section, third party contractors who are educational technology 51 providers or device providers are permitted to process the personally 52 identifiable information of a student user only where and to the extent 53 such processing is strictly necessary for the following purposes: 54 (1) providing or maintaining a specific product or service requested 55 by the student; 
 S. 10685 9 1 (2) conducting the provider's internal business operations, provided, 2 however, that for the purposes of this subparagraph internal business 3 operations shall not include any activities related to marketing, adver- 4 tising, research and development, providing products or services to 5 other third parties, prompting students or other users to use the educa- 6 tional technology or device when it is not in use, or training artifi- 7 cial intelligence; 8 (3) identifying and repairing technical errors that impair existing or 9 intended functionality; 10 (4) protecting against malicious, fraudulent, or illegal activity; 11 (5) investigating, establishing, exercising, preparing for, or defend- 12 ing legal claims; 13 (6) complying with federal, state, or local laws, rules, or regu- 14 lations; 15 (7) complying with a civil, criminal, or regulatory inquiry, investi- 16 gation, subpoena, or summons by federal, state, local, or other govern- 17 mental authorities; 18 (8) detecting, responding to, or preventing security incidents or 19 threats; or 20 (9) protecting the vital interests of a natural person. 21 h. Each third party contractor that enters into a contract or other 22 written agreement with an educational agency on or after the effective 23 date of this paragraph shall include a provision in such contract or 24 agreement that explicitly allows an educational agency to terminate the 25 contract or agreement: 26 (1) within ninety days of an educational agency providing written 27 notice to such contractor, and 28 (2) immediately, upon a finding that such contractor has violated any 29 of the provisions of this section or of section thirty-three or thirty- 30 five of this title. 31 § 6. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, 32 section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent 33 jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or 34 invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation 35 to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof 36 directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have 37 been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature 38 that this act would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions 39 had not been included herein. 40 § 7. This act shall take effect on the first of August after it shall 41 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 42 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 43 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 44 on or before such effective date.