The Rappahannock County School Board voted Tuesday to join 400 other school districts across the country in a lawsuit seeking damages from social media companies for their “harmful and addictive nature” that affects school children.
The body voted unanimously on a resolution at its monthly meeting to authorize the retention of legal counsel to represent the School Board in the litigation against popular social media companies because of their “significant harm to students’ mental health caused by their products.”
Rappahannock, along with the other schools, is seeking monetary damages from such social media companies as Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, TikTok and Google, to hold them accountable for the disruption in education they cause.
Watch the School Board meeting:
Rappahannock County School Board Meeting, Dec. 12 2023
“This is an item that’s been on the minds and hearts of educators everywhere — our battle with social media mediums and the algorithms that they’re using to really addict our children,” said Superintendent Dr. Shannon Grimsley at the meeting. “It has very adverse effects for learning and mental health regulation and behavior.”
Some of the negative effects mentioned in the resolution include increased rates of anxiety and depression, physical and mental health crises, impairment of self control and sleep deprivation.
Grimsley said she does not yet know what specific data will be necessary to prove the detrimental effects of social media, but speculates points such as mental health data, the cost of servers that block certain websites and social media platforms on school Wi-Fi and cellphone violation data will need to be presented.
The resolution sites a 2023 advisory from the United States Surgeon General which reports that 95% of youth ages 13-17 use social media, with a third of those using social media “almost constantly.”
The board agreed to enter into a retainer agreement with three law firms — the school’s general legal counsel and two national law firms, one in Baltimore and another based in San Francisco, who are representing a large number of other schools.
The firm would represent the school system on a contingency fee basis, meaning the board will only be responsible for legal fees if the school is awarded money in the litigation, and a percentage of that money will go toward the fees.
Solar panels
In other matters, the board delayed a vote on whether to enter into a contract with Secure Solar Solutions, a solar company, to have panels installed on the roof of the high school.
The board was presented with the details of the contract last month, and over a 35-year span, the school system would save approximately $1 million on energy.
The vote was postponed due to delays in the legal review of the contract, and Grimsley said she did authorize a structural review to be completed on the roof to ensure it can handle the panels. The final decision on the contract will be made at the Jan. 9 meeting.
Honoring Pud
Pud Maeyer retirement
Lucy “Pud” Maeyer, center, received thanks from Superintendent Dr. Shannon Grimsley and fellow School Board members Larry Grove and Rachel Bynum on Tuesday evening.
The board recognized Lucy “Pud” Maeyer at her last board meeting, and thanked her for eight years of service.
Board Chair Wes Mills applauded Maeyer for her fair decision-making and for putting the students and teachers of Rappahannock County first.
“We’ve come to depend on [you]–you’re level headed, always fair, always looking out for what would be the best decision for all students, not just some, and always defending the perspective of the teacher,” Mills said.
Maeyer was presented with a music box in the shape of a bell and the meeting was recessed for a cake break to celebrate further.
Maeyer is a career educator, and spent 26 years teaching math at Rappahannock County Elementary School until her retirement in 2007.
Missy McCool, who will be replacing Maeyer on the board, was present at the meeting, and will be sworn into office on Dec. 28.
