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Read. Follow. Verify.Missouri House Bill 2230 limits elementary student screen time to 45 minutes daily and mandates cursive instruction
Last action · May 7, 2026: Placed on Informal CalendarSponsors: Tricia Byrnes and 11 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Missouri HB 2230 restricts for kindergarten through grade five students to a maximum of 45 minutes per instructional day and mandates that at least seventy percent of student assignments be completed using pen or pencil. The bill prohibits technology from replacing primary instruction in reading, mathematics, handwriting, science , and social studies beginning in the 2027-28 school year.
School districts must overhaul elementary curricula, revise technology policies, and ensure daily access to physical books, paper workbooks, and math while prohibiting tech-based homework assignments.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
elementary school students in kindergarten through grade five
Their daily classroom screen time is capped at 45 minutes, a minimum of 70 percent of their assignments must be completed with pen and paper, and they must receive explicit cursive instruction starting in grade two.
school districts
They must adopt written technology-use policies, provide physical textbooks and manipulatives, publish policies online, and submit annual reports on device usage and software platforms.
parents and guardians
They receive annual notices regarding school screen-time limits, software lists, and handwriting plans, and gain the right to request additional screen-time reductions for their children.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many hours of daily screen time will elementary students be allowed?
Will students still be taught cursive writing?
Are teachers allowed to assign homework that requires a computer or tablet?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
28 actions- May 7, 2026HousePlaced on Informal Calendar
- May 4, 2026SenateCommitteeSCS Reported Do Pass (S)
- Apr 28, 2026SenateCommitteeSCS Voted Do Pass (S)
- Apr 28, 2026SenateExecutive Session Held (S)
- Apr 28, 2026SenatePublic Hearing Held (S)
- Apr 23, 2026SenatePublic Hearing Scheduled (S)
Show 22 earlier actions
- Apr 8, 2026SenateCommitteeSecond read and referred: Education(S)
- Mar 30, 2026SenateReported to the Senate and First Read (S)
- Mar 30, 2026HouseFloorThird Read and Passed (H)
- Mar 30, 2026HouseTaken Up for Third Reading (H)
- Mar 30, 2026HousePlaced on the Informal Third Reading Calendar (H)
- Mar 25, 2026HousePerfected with Amendments (H)
- Mar 25, 2026HouseHCS Adopted (H)
- Mar 25, 2026HouseTitle of Bill - Agreed To
- Mar 25, 2026HouseTaken Up for Perfection (H)
- Mar 23, 2026HousePlaced on the Informal Perfection Calendar (H)
- Mar 5, 2026HouseCommitteeReported Do Pass (H)
- Mar 5, 2026HouseCommitteeVoted Do Pass (H)
- Mar 5, 2026HouseExecutive Session Completed (H)
- Feb 19, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred: Rules - Legislative(H)
- Feb 18, 2026HouseCommitteeHCS Reported Do Pass (H)
- Feb 18, 2026HouseCommitteeHCS Voted Do Pass (H)
- Feb 18, 2026HouseExecutive Session Completed (H)
- Feb 4, 2026HousePublic Hearing Completed (H)
- Jan 22, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred: Elementary and Secondary Education(H)
- Jan 8, 2026HouseFloorRead Second Time (H)
- Jan 7, 2026HouseIntroducedRead First Time (H)
- Dec 5, 2025HouseIntroducedPrefiled (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 7 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Curricular Return to Physical Media
The legislation creates a strict statutory floor requiring that at least 70 percent of elementary assignments rely on paper and pencil, reversing trends toward digital-first classrooms.
Sources
house.mo.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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