The Alabama House Education Policy Committee passed House Bill 78, the Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act, on Wednesday.
Representative Jeana Ross, R-District 27, introduced the measure, which would direct the Department of Early Childhood Education to create guidelines and training on appropriate screen-time use and to set age-based limits for publicly funded early-learning centers.
Governor Kay Ivey endorsed the bill during her final State of the State address at the start of the 2026 legislative session.
“Technology has incredible benefits, but too much of anything can be detrimental,” Ivey said. “My first Early Childhood Education Secretary and now Representative Jeana Ross is putting forward a bill that will, with Senator Donnie Chesteen, limit screen time for children five and younger in publicly funded early-learning centers. House Bill 78 will help our youngest Alabamians during their key developmental days. Let’s get this bill passed so I can sign it into law.”
Ross told the committee the bill would bar all screen time for children under 2 in child-care settings. The Department of Early Childhood Education, working with the Department of Human Resources and the State Board of Education, would set specific limits for children ages 2–5.
Representative Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, asked whether the proposal would impose new costs on state child-care facilities. Ross said she did not believe it would.
The committee then unanimously approved the bill, sending it to the full House.
