WHILE SOCIAL MEDIA legislation remains stagnant in closed-door legislative negotiations, the state is using $1.75 million in an attempt to help schools address the technology’s use and effects on young people.
Through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Safe, Healthy and Responsible Digital Life Grant program, schools can apply for funding and then use it for “age-appropriate” classroom instruction, materials, educator training and resources to help families support healthy social media use, according to the Healey administration.
“Our kids are growing up in a world that looks very different from the one we experienced, and schools and families need to work together to help students make healthy choices,” Education Secretary Steve Zrike said, invoking his experience as a parent of two teenagers. “These grants will give educators more tools to have those important conversations and help students develop the skills to stay safe online.”
Gov. Maura Healey announced the funding at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School on Wednesday, telling reporters, “This is about setting kids up for success. It’s a fast-paced world. Technology is evolving quickly, and we have to evolve with it.”
Social media legislation is at a standstill on Beacon Hill and it’s unclear how or if lawmakers will move forward with a slate of varying proposals. Educators and advocates continue to warn about the harmful impacts of social media on kids; a $17.1 billion settlement with Meta in August resolved claims that the company created and ran its platforms in a way that harmed young people and violated state consumer protection laws.
The House in April passed a bill (H 5366) banning kids under 14 from using social media platforms and requiring that platforms obtain parental consent for users aged 14 and 15. The proposal is embedded in a bill that would also ban student cellphone use in schools, which the Senate took up in a standalone bill. The Senate in July passed different social media regulations (S 3175) requiring all social media platforms to adopt “default” settings for minors that disable things including addictive feeds, “autoplay” and “infinite scroll” capabilities, and that turn off notifications during a period at night.
Healey proposed language in April that would require social media companies to deactivate certain addictive features and notifications and to limit platform use for users under the age of 18. She tucked it into a supplemental spending bill focused mostly on snow and ice removal costs.
The grant program is funded through a $2 million fiscal 2027 budget item meant for online safety and education, the administration said. The additional $250,000 will be used for reviewing instruction materials and developing educational videos and resources to help schools teach students about social media use and digital literacy.
Through the program announced Wednesday, public school districts, charter public schools, and educational collaboratives can apply for approximately 25 to 30 grants of up to $60,000 each, per the administration, which said the grants aim to teach students how to “recognize false or misleading information, including AI-generated content, protect their personal information, understand the risks of social media and cyberbullying, and make responsible decisions online.”
Asked if there’s a balance between cellphone use in schools and parents wanting to have access to their kids during the day, Healey said, “I think that’s part of this discussion today. Figuring out, you know, is it bell-to-bell? Should there be a cellphone ban all day, or is it something modified where when you’re in the classroom you have to put your cellphone away and you can use it at different times in the day, maybe to have that contact with your parents?”
“These are really important things we’ve got to think through,” she continued.
