Your voice matters. Join us.
No matter how much time you have to give, you can help restore real-world connection for the next generation of Minnesota kids.
A Minnesota Statewide Coalition
Restoring real-world connection and building stronger communities across Minnesota.
We're parents, educators, and community members across Minnesota organizing to restore real-world connection in our homes, schools, and communities — reclaiming our collective attention and building a stronger foundation for the next generation.
A Hub for Collective Action
We're not anti-tech. We're pro-childhood and pro-learning.
MN Unplugged brings together local efforts across Minnesota into one unified space. Our goal is to help local initiatives grow and thrive — using our shared infrastructure to connect resources, support coordination, and show legislators that this is a real, growing movement across the state.
We partner with national experts and nonprofit organizations, including Distraction-Free Schools Policy Project and Smartphone Free Childhood US.
We believe technology can be a powerful tool when used with intention and purpose. We also believe childhood needs protecting in an increasingly digital world — and while technology keeps advancing faster than society can adapt, collective action remains our greatest tool for change.
Real, lasting change happens where these three meet.
Where We Stand
What we believe — and what we're advocating for.
We Believe
- Technology can be a powerful tool when used intentionally and with purpose
- Childhood is being stolen by screen time
- Kids thrive through real-world play and face-to-face connection
- The longer we wait to give children devices, the healthier they will be
- Schools should be places to learn, not marketplaces for tech companies
- Teachers shouldn't have to play phone police, and students deserve distraction-free classrooms
We Advocate For
- Phone-free schools, bell to bell
- Schools that prioritize student learning and well-being over Big Tech interests
- More free-play and independence for kids
- Collective action to delay smartphones and social media
- Low-tech childhoods and teen years
Organizing Statewide
Local Supporters and Affiliates
As a state coalition, we're working together across the entire state of Minnesota. Our local groups are listed below and shown on the map. If you'd like to get involved with one, reach out to the lead contact linked below.
The Balance Project
The Twin Cities
The Balance Project
Alexandria and surrounding communities
Park Unplugged
St. Louis Park
Screen Smart Tonka
Minnetonka School District 276
Tech Intentional St. Paul
St. Paul Public Schools
279 Parents 4 Human Centered Ed
Osseo Area Schools
Mounds View District
Mounds View
Generation Tech Kids
Twin Cities based, available remotely
Nurture in Nature Therapy Services
Rochester
SAP Elementary
Saint Anthony Park Elementary — Saint Paul Public Schools
196 Unplugged
District 196 (Apple Valley, Rosemount, Eagan, Eastview)
Screen Smart Edina
Edina
Tech Intentional Minneapolis
Minneapolis
Don't see your group listed? Let us know →
Every pin is a local group organizing in their own community.
Open full map →
Two Minutes Now
This is work for many voices.
MN Unplugged is working to shift how we approach technology in childhood and adolescence. This requires parents and teachers, health providers, and people from every walk of life and every part of the political spectrum. No matter how much time you have to give, your involvement matters.
At the local level, MN Unplugged supports local parent groups advocating for change in their own schools and communities. Our priorities include:
Bell-to-bell phone-free schools
Require students (K–12) to store phones — and potentially other personal devices — in a secure location from the start of the school day until dismissal, creating distraction-free learning environments.
Human-centered, evidence-based learning
We support a paradigm shift to human-centered learning models, evidence-based curricula, increased movement and outdoor time, and improved digital literacy for all students and staff. Technology in schools should be pedagogically necessary, research-based, and developmentally appropriate — not the default for every lesson, every grade, every day.
Collective action to delay devices
Rally Minnesota families around community-wide pledges to delay smartphone use until at least the beginning of high school.
At the state level, MN Unplugged supports policies and legislation that address the broader digital environment children grow up in. Our priorities include:
Phone-free schools, statewide
Statewide standards to support and expand bell-to-bell phone-free policies across K–12 schools in Minnesota.
Ed-tech oversight
Requirements for schools to evaluate and ensure the safety, effectiveness, and data privacy of digital tools used in classrooms.
AI regulation
Policies to ensure the responsible use of artificial intelligence in educational and child-facing settings.
Social media guardrails
Age verification, warning labels about the risks of excessive use, and transparency requirements for social media platforms.
Kids' online safety
Stronger protections for children's data, age-appropriate design standards, and accountability for platforms and app stores.
Connect With Us
Real-world connection starts with finding each other.
Statewide WhatsApp
Join parents and caregivers organizing across Minnesota — share wins, ask questions, connect with others near you.
Join the chat →Follow MN Unplugged for updates, action alerts, and community moments from groups across the state.
@mn_unplugged →Like and follow MN Unplugged for news, discussion, and conversation happening in your community.
MN Unplugged →
Research & Resources
The evidence behind the ask.
We're pro-evidence, not anti-tech. These are the resources we lean on most.
SBS Library
A curated library of screen time & tech research
View resource →SBS Intentional EdTech Database
Tracking how ed-tech is used across schools
View resource →Phone-Free Schools State Report Card
See how your state's phone policies stack up
View resource →Research from The Anxious Generation
Jonathan Haidt's research hub on tech & youth mental health
View resource →Smartphone Free Childhood
A global movement of families working to delay smartphones and social media for kids
View resource →
Backed By Experts
Our supporters.
GR
George Realmuto, M.D.
Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota Medical School, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
SL
Sarah Langford
Nurse Practitioner in Developmental Pediatrics
RA
Roger Aviles, M.D.
Pediatrician
IE
Irmak Ertuna Howison
Publishing Professional
BP
Becky Philipsek, PA-C
Physician Assistant
JL
Jessica Lloyd, PsyD, LP
Licensed Psychologist
TM
Tye Moe
Doctor of Chiropractic
KS
Kari Suzuki
Early Childhood Educator, M.Ed. in Educational Leadership
JS
Jacinda Stanton, PMHNP-BC
Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric Specialty Care
LB
Lauren Beek
Executive Director, Literacy Nonprofit
KL
Katie Lamping, OTR/L, MOT
Occupational Therapist
MG
Maddie Goeden, M.D.
Pediatrician
Want your name on this list? Fill out our new member interest form or email us directly.
EdTech Advocacy Guide
Build your personalized action plan.
This guide will walk you through a few quick questions about how technology is used at your school and give you a personalized action plan with clear next steps. Adapted with gratitude from PA Unplugged.
If you haven't yet, take 5 minutes to complete our Ed Tech Survey.
We're building a picture of how parents across Minnesota feel about school technology. Your response helps us understand the full picture and strengthens the case for change.
Take the survey →
Before or as you go through this guide, look for these on your district's website:
- School board policy or handbook rules on devices
- Technology philosophy or position statement
- Digital literacy curriculum
- AI guidelines or policy
If they exist, these will help you understand where things currently stand and will strengthen any conversations you have with teachers or administrators.
Assess Device Use
Not startedAnswer each question about your child's experience. Your answers will generate personalized action items.
1
Is your child assigned their own device (e.g., a Chromebook or iPad)?
2
Does your child bring their device home overnight?
3
Does the school allow device use during non-instructional time (e.g., recess, downtime, lunch, etc.)?
4
Does the school use screentime or games as a reward?
This includes letting students play games or use apps as a treat for good behavior or finishing work early.
5
Does the school allow students to use YouTube or generative AI chatbots (e.g. ChatGPT, Gemini)?
6
Are you aware of which apps and platforms are approved and used at your school?
This includes the full list of apps and platforms, which grade levels use them, and how the approval process works.
7
Do you know how much time your child spends on a device per day?
8
Do you know how much of your child's schoolwork is done on a device vs. with paper and pencil — things like reading, writing, and research?
Questions? Ideas?
Get in touch.
We'd love to hear from you — whether you want to get involved, have a question, or just want to talk it through.
hello@mnunplugged.org