About this effort

About the PK-5 Responsible EdTech Task Force

The expansion of educational technology (EdTech) in early elementary classrooms marks a critical juncture for our youngest learners. Because PK-5 education requires an approach distinct from secondary and postsecondary models, the PK-5 Responsible EdTech Task Force was established to build a Pedagogy-First framework for early childhood and elementary education that prioritizes evidence-backed, purposeful EdTech selection, integration and implementation.

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Rather than starting from scratch, our work builds on decades of learning science, cognitive development, and child development research, while directly leveraging established guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Psychological Association (APA). Together, this foundation ensures that digital tools reinforce human connection, support foundational child developmental science and associated milestones, and prioritize children's physical, sensory, and social-emotional well-being. The PK-5 Responsible EdTech Task Force was established to develop a model policy and associated implementation for purpose-built educational technology integration in early childhood and elementary education. This initiative ensures digital tools enhance foundational sensory and social-emotional growth. 

 

Translating a deep body of clinical and developmental research into actionable practice requires rigorous collaboration across the entire early learning ecosystem. Guided by an Executive Steering Committee representing educators, civil rights advocates, researchers, and families, our Task Force brings together four specialized areas of expertise:

• Classroom Practitioners and Families: Early childhood and elementary educators alongside parents and caregivers who ground the work in daily classroom realities and home learning dynamics.

• Developmental and Learning Scientists: Researchers specializing in early childhood cognitive, physical, sensory, and social-emotional milestones who anchor our standards in established learning science and clinical guidelines from the AAP and APA.

• Legal, Disability, Civil Rights, and Child Safety Experts: Specialists focused on student data privacy, digital equity, algorithmic bias, and age-appropriate safety protections.

• EdTech Industry Representatives: Product leaders committed to aligning technological design with early learning pedagogy and empirical evidence.

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This work was shaped and vetted through a rigorous field engagement process featuring over 130 feedback sessions, 20 Task Force meetings, and 285 targeted section responses from practitioners, families, and policy leaders. Our collaborative process is structured around four core pillars:

• 20 Collaborative Task Force Meetings: Interdisciplinary working groups paired educators and families directly with learning scientists, child safety experts, and industry leaders. Together, they synthesized empirical research and AAP and APA guidance into concrete standards for pedagogy, safety, and product design.

• 30 Qualitative Research and Empathy Interviews: The work is informed by 10 deep-dive empathy interviews and up to 20 informational interviews with practitioners and field leaders to ensure standards reflect real-world classroom conditions.

• 130+ Field Feedback Sessions and 285 Targeted Section Responses: Through extensive qualitative interviews, model policy review sessions, and our upcoming national town halls, we stress-test every component of the policy and implementation playbook against real-world classroom conditions and collect granular, section-by-section input from practitioners, families, and policy leaders.

• Executive Steering Committee Governance: Through ongoing governance and alignment sessions, the Executive Steering Committee evaluated working group recommendations and field feedback across each phase to ensure equity, classroom feasibility, and strict alignment with developmental science.