Take Action: Write a letter to your school board or school administrators on banning cell phones at school
Now is a great time to ask your child’s school to change their policy on cell phones. Here is a template you can use to start a conversation on blocking social media and/or banning cell phones at school.
Letter to school leaders or board members on banning cell phones and/or blocking social media at school
You’ll see two options below:
Option A: ban cell phones at school
Option B: block social media at school
Option A
Dear [name],
Momentum is building on protecting children and teens from the dangers of social media and other websites and you can help!
Recently the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released an official U.S. Surgeon General Advisory for social media, with actions that technology companies, legislators, parents, young people and researchers can take. Scroll to the bottom here for a summary of helpful actions school leaders can take to support young people’s mental health.
The White House also released a statement and fact sheet outlining actions the Biden/Harris administration will take to combat social media's grip on our children and violations of their personal data.
How can you help?
By intentionally protecting students from the detrimental impacts of having access to cell phones at school. (Cell phones at school lead to social media misuse, taking photos of others in the bathroom, cyberbullying, extreme diet culture, hate speech, deadly challenges, deadly counterfeit prescription drugs, sexually explicit content and peer pressure.)
You can create a school policy or regulation stating that [insert your school district] will not allow cell phones during the school day on campus. By doing this, you will ensure that students are having face-to-face conversations and interactions and expanding their social skills. In addition, you can reduce the number of social media-driven incidents that need adult intervention.
[Here you could add local events that have happened in the community related to improper use of cell phones.]
Please be a leader in protecting kids’ mental health.
Thank you for all you do to help our kids learn and thrive.
Best,
[Name]
P.S. If you would like help drafting such a policy or would like examples of such policies and how they work at schools, please reach out to Lisa Honold at lisa@centerforonlinesafety.com.
Option B
Dear [name],
Momentum is building on protecting children and teens from the dangers of social media and other websites and you can help!
Recently the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released an official U.S. Surgeon General Advisory for social media, with actions that technology companies, legislators, parents, young people and researchers can take. Scroll to the bottom here for a summary of helpful actions school leaders can take to support young people’s mental health.
The White House also released a statement and fact sheet outlining actions the Biden/Harris administration will take to combat social media's grip on our children and violations of their personal data.
How can you help?
By intentionally protecting students from the detrimental impacts of social media during school hours. (We’re talking about dangerous things like cyberbullying, extreme diet culture, hate speech, deadly challenges, deadly counterfeit prescription drugs, sexually explicit content and peer pressure.)
You can create a school policy or regulation stating that [insert your school district] will not permit the use of social media on campus. By doing this, you will ensure that students are having face-to-face conversations and interactions and expanding their social skills. In addition, you can reduce the number of social media driven incidents that need adult intervention.
[Here you could add local events that have happened in the community related to social media mishaps and harms.]
Please be a leader in protecting kids’ mental health.
Thank you for all you do to help our kids learn and thrive.
Best,
[Name]
P.S. If you would like help drafting such a policy or would like examples of such policies and how they work at schools, please reach out to Lisa Honold at lisa@centerforonlinesafety.com.
Thanks to Lisa Cline, co-leader of Screens in Schools work group at the Screen Time Action Network, who wrote the original letter this template is based on.