An ongoing federal lawsuit alleges that social media companies have designed addictive platforms, exploiting young users.
Corpus Christi Independent School District wants in.
The Corpus Christi ISD board of trustees voted Monday evening to approve a legal services contract with three law firms, requesting approval from the Texas attorney general to participate in the litigation.
Plaintiffs, including numerous U.S. states, are taking on social media companies such as Meta Platforms Inc., Instagram LLC, Snap Inc., TikTok Inc., ByteDance Inc., YouTube LLC, Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. The plaintiffs allege that these companies have targeted school-aged children, a population “uniquely susceptible to harm,” creating a youth mental health crisis.
The plaintiffs’ first amended master complaint claims that school districts “have been forced into a constant struggle for students’ attention, as well as a constant struggle to provide the social, emotional, mental health, and learning support they need.”
The Corpus Christi Independent School District is attempting to join a federal lawsuit against social media companies that claims their platforms have created a youth mental health crisis.
Social media has “fundamentally changed the learning and teaching environment,” according to the complaint.
About 800 school districts have joined the lawsuit, Corpus Christi ISD board attorney Philip Fraissinet said during the Monday meeting. School districts have been dealing with the results of social media addiction, Fraissinet said, including having to hire additional mental health staff, facing bullying and discipline issues and losing learning opportunities.
Corpus Christi ISD intends to participate in the case by working with Fraissinet’s firm Thompson & Horton LLP, as well as Eiland & Bonnin PC and O’Hanlon, Demerath and Castillo PC on a contingent fee basis. This means that the school district will not pay any legal fees related to the litigation “until and unless” there is a successful judgment or settlement, Fraissinet said.
Fraissinet said that 46 Texas school districts have approved participating in the litigation, pending Texas attorney general approval.
A 2023 advisory from the U.S. surgeon general describes evidence of the effects of social media on youth mental health, including data that social media provides some benefits but also presents a meaningful risk of harm to youth, such as depression and anxiety.
A 2023 report from the American Federation of Teachers claims that “dealing with social media-related issues detracts from the primary mission” of schools, which is educating children.
The potential harms of social media to youth have not gone unnoticed in the Coastal Bend. Last year, a parents group called Champions for Childhood coalesced in Corpus Christi, concerned about youth social media and smartphone usage.
At the start of the current school year, Corpus Christi ISD banned cellphones and smartwatches during the school day for pre-K through eighth grade. High school students are still allowed to use cellphones between classes and during lunch, but district rules call for devices to remain turned off and out of the way in the classroom.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi ISD seeks to join social media addiction lawsuit
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