Among the increasing concern about screen time in school comes a new culprit: the vetting process for school software. A growing group of parents and teachers has spent the last few years fighting against cellphones in the classroom, with some extending that to all digital devices. But the school-issued laptops, and the software accompanying them, have been left largely unscathed. “A lot of the issues with personal devices can move to the district-issued devices,” said Kim Whitman, co-lead for Smartphone Free Childhood US, in a previous interview with EdSurge. Whitman explained that when students do not have cellphones, they can still message with friends on their Chromebooks, or through tools like Google Docs. “There are definitely issues with school-issued devices as well.”Proposals in three states – Rhode Island, Utah and Vermont – are now tackling these concerns. Better Vetting ProcessesAt the start of this year’s legislative session, all three states concurrently proposed reviewing the vetting process of education software. In most districts, school boards, IT personnel and administrators choose vendors, often relying on the vendors’ own data to prove the products' safety and efficacy. “There is nobody right now that is confirming these products are safe, effective and legal,” Whitman said in a previous interview. “It should not fall on the district’s IT director; it would be impossible for them to do it. And the companies should not be tasked with doing it — that would be like nicotine companies vetting their own cigarettes.”The proposed legislation is looking to change that. VermontBill: An act relating to educational technology productsStatus: Passed by the House March 27; currently before the Senate Committee on Education This bill proposes to require that providers of educational technology products register annually with the state. It also requires the secretary of state to create a certification standard and review process for these products before schools can use them. Any provider of an educational technology product — specifically student-facing tools that are used for teaching and learning in schools — must register with the secretary of state, pay a registration fee of $100 and provide its most up-to-date terms and conditions and privacy policy. The secretary of state would work with the Vermont Agency of Education to review registrations. Criteria for certification include: