McPherson Middle School in central Kansas banned cell phones on campus four years ago, but at the time it left untouched another major source of classroom technology: the Google Chromebooks issued by the school and used both in class and at home. That changed in December of last year, when the school asked its 480 students to give up those laptops as well.

Administrators found that after phones were removed, students were turning to school-issued laptops for distractions such as watching YouTube videos or playing games instead of focusing on lessons. Some students also used their school Gmail accounts to tease classmates, the New York Times reported earlier this year.

McPherson has since shifted to a more limited model: laptops are used only for specific activities assigned by teachers. Devices that are not in use now sit in carts at the back of classrooms, while students have returned to taking notes with pen and paper.

“This technology can be a tool. It is not the answer to education,” said McPherson principal Inge Esping, who was named Kansas’s middle school Principal of the Year for 2025.

Students who want to use laptops for extra work at home can still borrow a Chromebook from the school library, the Times reported.

McPherson is part of a broader reassessment taking place in schools in states including North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Michigan. Districts are rethinking policies that provided a laptop to every student, along with the millions of dollars spent on those programs, as research has reportedly linked increased school technology use with falling test scores or a lack of measurable academic progress. The reassessment marks a significant shift from the pandemic era, when the rapid shift to remote learning prompted districts nationwide to rush devices into students' hands, often funded by billions in federal relief money.

Maine, which in 2002 became one of the first states to adopt a policy of placing laptops in public schools, did not improve its test scores after 15 years of the initiative, NPR reported in 2017. Jared Cooney Horvath, a neuroscientist and former teacher, said in written testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation that math and science scores have declined as technology has entered classrooms.

Citing the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS, Horvath said: “Frequent in-class computer use correlates with significantly lower math and science performance across both high-income and middle-income countries.” The study showed that fourth- and eighth-grade test scores correlated with laptop use, with students who almost never used laptops scoring at the higher end and those using them almost daily scoring at the lower end.

Google Chromebooks, manufactured by PC makers such as Lenovo, Acer, and Dell, have become deeply embedded in U.S. schools. The laptops are relatively inexpensive, averaging between $300 and $400 per device. In schools, Chromebooks also benefit from ChromeOS, which relies on built-in web apps such as Google Docs rather than installed software such as Microsoft Office, which can be costly. Google Classroom has likewise become a common tool across U.S. K–12 education.

Google’s expansion in education has been financially significant. Education accounted for 60% of global Chromebook market share as of 2025, helping lift the total Chromebook market to $14 billion, according to CommandLinux. If districts continue scaling back device programs, the education segment that has anchored Chromebook growth could face headwinds.

Laptop regrets

North Carolina schools spent $448 million in pandemic-related federal funding on computers and equipment for students and staff, according to WRAL. That money came from federal COVID-19 relief programs such as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund, which has since expired. Once those funds dried up, districts struggled to replace broken or outdated devices, which last less than a decade on average despite Google’s efforts to extend Chromebook life spans. During a 2025 committee meeting, Robert Taylor, superintendent of North Carolina’s largest school system in Wake County, said the district needed to move away from its one-to-one laptop policy.

Another North Carolina district has moved to reduce laptop use for educational reasons, Carolina Public Press reported. In Burke County, in western North Carolina, where fewer than 100,000 residents live, the school board approved a resolution directing Burke County Public Schools to encourage learning through paper and printed materials and to limit screen time only “for activities where technology offers clear, evidence-based instructional advantages.” In February, parents and educators reported improvements in reading comprehension and test scores, as well as a drop in homework-related stress, with many attributing those changes to the pro-paper resolution, according to The Paper.

Earlier this year, a school district in Wexford County, Michigan, which has a population of 34,000, banned screens for elementary school students as it sought to address reading proficiency problems. In one elementary school alone, more than 65% of third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students were “not proficient” or “partially proficient” on state standardized tests, according to Interlochen Public Radio.

The shift away from classroom technology comes as evidence continues to emerge that screen access does not necessarily improve student outcomes and may instead be impeding them. The movement also parallels a broader push across U.S. schools to curb student phone use, with several states having passed laws or policies restricting phones in classrooms. In his written Senate testimony, Horvath said Gen Z is the first generation in modern history to score lower on standardized tests than their parents’ generation.

Horvath previously told Fortune that distraction is a major factor in the decline in learning, noting that it takes time to regain focus after attention has been diverted. Educational systems “screwed up,” he said. “And I genuinely hope Gen Z quickly figures that out and gets mad.”

A version of this story originally appeared on Fortune.com on April 10, 2026.