Formal Written Complaint Against SJUSD for its Violation of Board Policies

Petition updateLimit Social Media on SJUSD Issued Devices & Enforce Technology Policy for Cell PhonesFormal Written Complaint Against SJUSD for its Violation of Board Policies

Erika MurphySan Jose, CA, United States

Apr 10, 2022

Below is the letter submitted to SJUSD. I wasn't able to post as a PDF here so it lost the footnote support as written but I have pasted some supporting links at the bottom of this letter. Please continue to share https://www.change.org/LimitNon-EducationalSocialMediaUseFromSJUSDClassrooms to increase the signature support for a change.

March 29, 2022

Mr. Stephen McMahon, Ms. Darbi O’Connell, Mr. Patrick Scanlan

San Jose Unified School District

855 Lenzen Avenue

San Jose, CA 95126

To Whom it May Concern:

I am concerned for the health and wellbeing of my children, as well as other children who attend school within San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD). Due to the pandemic, our use of devices connected to the internet has increased, and now that this is becoming our new reality, SJUSD will need to adapt to protect our children. Looking at this issue and reacting to it promptly will require some foresight – which is easy to obtain when looking at the data and research that has already been published, even before the pandemic, in addition to lawsuits and investigations that have recently been filed in California and nationwide. We are starting to see more and more children and adolescents experience serious mental health issues and are seeing increased suicide rates across the country, so the time to act is now.

My request for SJUSD is to (1) do more to ensure our students are safe from the detrimental effects of social media on their mental health by re-evaluating access to social and entertainment media on district-issued devices and (2) enforce the posted SJUSD technology policy related to the use of internet-connected devices in the classroom, primarily by prohibiting the use of internet-connected devices during class unless necessary for school-related activities.

My quest for a solution to the issue of social and entertainment media access on district issued devices and the need for consistent enforcement of the existing San Jose Unified Technology Policy for Technology in the Classroom began in September 2021 and still has not been satisfactorily addressed.

Over the last 5 months, I contacted the following authorities to raise these issues: At the school level, I have reached out to principals, assistant principals, a school counselor and the school IT resource. At the District level, I have filed Helpdesk tickets (Ticket 304261 (Parent Concern) addressed by the Director of Technology Services and Ticket 313355 (Technology & Data Services > Other) and talked with the Manager of Technology, and I spoke to the Director of Student Services and the Director of Communications & Engagement. At the Board of Education level, I have emailed my District 5 Trustee, followed by the entirety of the Board and the Superintendent. I also spoke with a board member at the direction of the Superintendent and spoke at public comment at the School Board Meeting on January 13, 2022.

This letter shall serve as my formal written complaint against SJUSD for its violation of the following Board Policies (BP): (1) BP 0450, (2) BP 5131, and (3) BP 5144.

(1) BP 0450 states students and staff have the right to a safe and secure campus where they are free from physical and psychological harm.

It has been proven in multiple studies that the unrestricted use of internet-connected devices, especially when equipped with access to social media, psychologically harms children. Social media is the most common place where kids are exposed to mature content and interaction, bad language, extreme ideas and even become victims of perpetrators and cyberbullies and sex crimes. Social media is proven to be unhealthy and a detriment to mental health, especially for young children, and it is disproportionally high for young girls. Multiple studies have found a strong link between heavy social media and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-harm, and even suicidal thoughts. Cell phones are the primary means for students to access social media and many students are addicted to their cell phones. Allowing students unfettered access to their cell phones while in class contributes to the erosion of their mental health. However, our students aren’t just limited to their cell phones to access social media, students can now access social media right on their district-issued devices while in class, as there seem to be no adequate restrictions on these devices. SJUSD is violating its own policies by not providing a campus free from psychological harm given the access to social media on district issued devices and through the inconsistent enforcement of the existing section of the SJUSD Technology Policy - Technology in the Classroom. Additionally, these actions may be seen as a discriminatory practice as social media is known to have a more negative impact on female students than on male students.

In this year’s Digital Safety presentation given by SJPD to our school’s parents, it was stated that Instagram is ranked the worst social media platform by young people for mental health. SJUSD is allowing unrestricted access to this social media platform known to have negative impacts on young people’s mental health. Even California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta recently launched an investigation into Instagram’s impact on young people.

In December 2021, the US Surgeon General issued a report that warns of mental health crisis hitting youth being intensified by the pandemic.

Just in February, 2022, the mother of an 11-year old who died by suicide this last year filed a lawsuit against Meta and Snap's. The allegations show that these companies design algorithms that are highly addictive to children. We need to understand that this is a real risk, and we need to do more to protect our children.

On March 2, 2022 Attorney General Bonta announced an additional nationwide investigation against TikTok for promoting its social media platform to children and young adults while its use is associated with physical and mental health harms to youth. Attorneys general nationwide are examining whether the company is violating state consumer protection laws and putting children at risk.

Given the attention these issues are getting and our multiple attempts to bring this issue to the attention of the District, the District is on notice of how dangerous its current practices are, and must take action to protect our children. Do not wait until it is too late. Many school districts in California and across the country have reacted to this issue and put appropriate policies in place. We should not be lagging behind because it will hurt our children. We do not want to see our children harmed and state “I told you so” and “SJUSD was made aware of these issues but did not act” when it is too late for those children.

(2) BP 5131 states all students have the right to be educated in a positive learning environment free from disruptions. Students shall be expected to exhibit appropriate conduct that does not infringe upon the rights of others or interfere with the school program while on school grounds.

Without consistent enforcement of the existing section of the SJUSD Technology Policy - Technology in the Classroom - students are either disrupted themselves by accessing their district-issued devices or personal devices for non-school related activities or disrupting other students around them through the use of these devices for non-school related actives while in the line of site of other students around them. You cannot expect our children to avoid these disruptions themselves. Per the above, social media sites are highly addictive. Our children are still growing and learning. Some may be able to resist, but many will not, given how manipulative companies design their algorithms. These children will not pay adequate attention to their lessons, and this is neither a positive learning environment, nor is it free from disruptions.

(3) BP 5144 states the Board is committed to providing a safe, supportive, and positive school environment which is conducive to student learning and achievement and desires to prepare students for responsible citizenship by fostering self-discipline and personal responsibility. The Board believes that high expectations for student behavior, use of effective school and classroom management strategies, provision of appropriate interventions and supports, and parent/guardian involvement can minimize the need for disciplinary measures that exclude students from instruction.

Again, unfettered access to social and entertainment media during class creates an environment not conducive to student learning and achievement. Excessive screen time can cause setbacks in children’s health, social and emotional development. This can hinder their ability to engage in the typical everyday activities that enable them to learn about the world and themselves. This is intensified by the lack of mindful consideration to the types of sites accessible to students beyond social media, including entertainment/gaming media. Due to the students’ ages, many of their brains haven’t developed the self-discipline and personal responsibility needed to manage this access and teachers are unable to effectively monitor 30+ students’ screens at one time while in class to support this while simultaneously teaching their lesson plan effectively. Furthermore, parents DO NOT have the ability to manage the settings on their student’s district-issued devices or monitor their activity on district-issued devices and therefore are not able to be involved in our children’s screen actions. Additionally, the District isn’t effectively monitoring this. SJUSD is knowingly putting our children at risk of developing addictive behaviors and other mental health issues and falling behind with school work.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Erika Murphy

cc:

San Jose Unified Board of Education

San Jose Unified Superintendent

Supporting Links:

Mature content and interaction -

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/09/27/a-majority-of-teens-have-experienced-some-form-of-cyberbullying/

https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/articles/teens-and-the-sexual-content-on-social-media/

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/Adverse-Effects-of-Television-Commercials.aspx

https://d2e111jq13me73.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/uploads/research/2020_youngkidsyoutube-report_final-release_forweb.pdf