Meeting Public Comments

Sandy Wilson [Citizen Engagement]

Citizen Engagement declares IN FAVOR of HSB 106. Please advance the bill.

Colin B

My name is Colin. We are aware that phones have been a topic of opposing views in recent years, and they should have been taken care of years ago. Here is why, from a kids perspective who is living in this situation every day at school.During my sixth grade year I was highly addicted to YouTube. I watched thousands of YouTube videos during my school day and essentially skipped that entire year of school.In this same year I was told by another student to take the gay test online using my school device. I did and was brainwashed for months thinking I might be gay, due to the surveys influence on me.In 7th grade, I was shown a video of XXX pornography and a real livestreamed suicide on kids personal cell phone at the lunch table. This same student, because of Discord and other social media platforms, was influenced by the trend of saying, Just kill yourself. This student repeatedly told me I should kill myself daily. This led to suicidal ideations. I was lucky, I told my mom and asked for help. Not everyone is able to do that.I no longer have these extreme ideations. These negatives experiences, with the help of certain teachers and my parents, have led to a profound emotional and spiritual growth in my life. I cannot say the same for some of my peers I see each day. Please help us, as children, to end the addiction. Give us a place to be kids and socially interact with each other again.Thank you for your time.

Andrea Boyd

Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts on HSB 106. I am a mother of 2 teen children and am an active advocate in the Screens in Schools space participating with other nonprofits and foundations working on an educational movement to enable our future generation the opportunity for a distraction free educational experience.I encourage deliberation to take this bill further by expanding scope to include bell to bell language as outlined with a model bill on the Becca Schmill Foundation for phone and social media free schools. It is nearly impossible for a student to resist the addictive algorithms when the phone and/or device is on their person. This places the burden of management back onto our teachers, who are there to provide an education for students.Studies have found that:97% of students average 43 minutes of use during the school dayThose 43 minutes are spent on social media, YouTube and gamingOne third of teens report being exposed to pornography while at school35% of teens admit to using their phones to cheat65% of students selfreport to being distracted by digital devices in class72% of US High School teachers say cell phone distraction is a major problem in the classroom according to Pew Research CenterAll this research is further backed up by the 2017 Brain Drain Study which found:The mere present of a cell phone, even when it is silent and stored out of sight, reduces cognitive capacityStudents performed best when the phone was in a separate roomAll the above points were important when taking a test, but even MORE profound when learning new concepts, which is the majority state of mind our students should be in during their school dayTeachers want personal electronic devices out of the classroom as well. In 2024, the National Education Association conducted a poll that identified:83% of the members support prohibiting cell phones and personal device use during the entire school day, from the first bell to the last bell.Over 90% of educators feel students mental health is a serious issue at their school and a majority say there has been a significant increase in concerns related to student mental health in the past few yearsAnd here is why:95% of teenagers are on social media. This includes 40% of 812 year oldsOn average, teens spend nearly 5 hours per day on social media appsAccording to the American Psychological Association, when teens spend more than 3 hours per day on social media, their risk of poor mental health DOUBLES. Meaning they are twice as likely to become depressed, anxious and beyondThe US Surgeon General issued an Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health stating, Schools should ensure that classroom learning and social time are phonefree experiences.I appreciate the bills effort to address these screenbased concerns in our schools across the state. I would like the bill to clearly state the definition of nonmedically necessary personal electronic devices:All cell phonesoSmart phonesoBrick phones (noninternet connected interfaces)SmartwatchesFitness TrackersBluetooth connected devicesIn addition, I would appreciate consideration of addressing broader concerns and/or options for those wanting less screenbased learning in schools outside of technology classes where appropriate use of screenbased products is necessary. Parents should be given the opportunity to Opt in for those who want screens and for those wanting a more embodied, teacher/peer/paper/writing learning experience an option to Opt out of the screenbased devices. We should have a voice in who, how and what data is being shared with application vendors and 3rd party data brokers. Please reference the latest news on the PowerSchool data breach currently estimated at 64 million student data records and 9.4 million teacher records. Current reports suggest that this data includes, but is not limited to, critically sensitive data like medical information, disciplinary information, legal custody and more.In closing, I would like to express gratitude to the individuals working on this important legislation. I am grateful for the opportunity to express ideas and concerns. Additionally, I am happy to provide any research and data to the committee that would assist on decision making of this critical issue for our students sake. I look forward to continuing collaboration to make our childrens school days engaging and productive; our future depends upon it.

josh bujalski [Durant Police Department]

I have emailed and have commented on the Senate File Bill. I am a School Resource Officer and have seen firsthand the effects that phones with our children have on them. We should model our bill like the state of Louisiana. There bill says that students are not allowed to have possession of an electronic device during the instructional day. Which they define as the moment the student enters the school building until they leave at the end of the day. We need to have this bill be as strict as possible. Please consider rewriting this bill to reflect what the state of Louisiana has.