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

TALLAHASSEE (FLV) – Republican state Sen. Danny Burgess of Pasco County re-introduced a bill that would mandate public schools teach social media safety to students.

“This is number one,” Burgess said. “I think that if we don’t teach this in schools, we are going to wish like hell not too long down the road that we did.”

Burgess noted that if approved, it would be the first piece of legislation to define the term “social media” in Florida’s statutory history. Speaking to Florida’s Voice, the Senator stated his intention for pushing this legislation so diligently.

“We are going to help kids be prepared for something that they are having access to at a younger and younger and younger age whether we want them to or not and we’re going to make sure they’re safe,” Burgess said. “We are going to create a cutting edge, state of the art, educational curriculum that is going to teach social media safety.”

As a father himself, Burgess believes public schools should be providing students and parents with the knowledge and resources necessary to combat social media’s pitfalls. Some of which he identified as human trafficking and mental illness induced by excessive or unhealthy social media use.

The bill itself does not include any specifics regarding the curriculum’s substance or what it might contain. Instead, the legislation delegates this task to the Florida Department of Education.

The bill would require Florida’s Department of Education “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. Burgess hopes this legislation, if adopted, will help parents “stay ahead of the curve” as it relates to the ever evolving social media platforms and trends.

Burgess has filed the bill before and garnered bipartisan support from key Democrat lawmakers in both chambers. Democrat Senator Shevrin Jones, a supporter of Burgess’ social media bill in a previous legislative session, remarked, “social media is morphing, and some of the stuff and the content that’s coming across is dangerous.”

House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell previously introduced a virtually identical piece of legislation in the House, however the bill, HB 361, died without a vote. It remains to be seen whether Burgess’ reminted bill will attract bipartisan support once more in the upcoming legislative session.

Burgess also acknowledged the bill may take a while to pass both chambers. Even with bipartisan support, the Senator stated that the legislation, “might be a multi-year project.”