Senate committee passes bill to ban students from using social media on school WiFi

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – The Senate Education Pre-K -12 committee unanimously advanced a social media safety bill Tuesday that would require social media safety courses and prohibits public school students from using social media sites on school WiFi.

The bill would require the Florida Department of Education to “make social media safety instructional material available online.” It would also mandate school boards notify parents of the availability of these materials and how to access them.

Sen. Danny Burgess is the bill’s sponsor. Perhaps the biggest modification to Burgess’ bill in committee was a provision to remove the ability of students to access any social media sites on school WiFi.

The committee also approved Burgess’ amendment which provides more specific details on how the bill would be enforced and executed. He called the newly implemented cybersecurity guidelines “the real important section.”

“If you’re using it, how to use it safely, including but not limited to maintaining personal security, preventing oversharing of personal information and identifying predatory behavior,” said Burgess. “We’re adding in human trafficking as a component of this.”

Senator Danny Burgess’ Bill Requires Public Schools Teach Social Media Safety

Burgess called on the Florida Senate to approve this measure “statewide.”

“We want to make sure that it’s codified across the state, it’s something that is an important protective measure for our kids,” Burgess said.

When asked if the amendment would block access to apps such as Linkedin or others that are utilized in certain classrooms, Burgess acknowledged there would be exceptions. 

“If it’s a classroom specific educational requirement, there will be those types of guardrails and of course, I will say exceptions,” Burgess explained.