FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 27, 2025
Contact:
Ashwin Verghese
717 676 8584
[email protected]
Vermont first in nation to prevent schools from contacting students through social media
Fairplay, the leading nonprofit committed to helping children thrive in our screen-obsessed culture, congratulates Vermont on becoming the first state in the nation to prohibit schools from contacting students through social media.
The ban comes from a bill that was led by State Rep. Angela Arsenault, who is a member of Fairplay’s Screen Time Action Network Screens in Schools Work Group. The legislation will also add Vermont to the growing number of states that have passed “bell-to-bell” policies that ban the use of phones and personal electronic devices during the school day. Gov. Phil Scott signed the bill into law today.
In 2022, Fairplay, in conjunction with the grassroots members of its Screen Time Action Network Screens in Schools Work Group, wrote and organized a letter signed by over 20 organizations and nearly 30 experts calling on the U.S. Department of Education to issue official guidance against the use of social media to communicate with students.
Fairplay Executive Director Josh Golin, a Vermont resident, said: “I’m proud to see our state take the lead in ending the absurd practice of forcing students to use social media in order to participate in extracurriculars or communicate with educators and administrators. Social media use is linked to mental health struggles and other serious harms for minors, and no child should ever be compelled to use TikTok, Snap, or Instagram in order to participate in school activities. And by requiring schools to have a ‘bell-to-bell’ policy prohibiting phone use, Vermont lawmakers have taken a critical step toward improving the well-being and learning of our state’s students.
“The passage of this first-of-its-kind legislation is a testament to the tireless organizing of the all-volunteer Vermont Coalition for Phone and Social Media Free Schools and the leadership of Rep. Angela Arsenault. Between this and the recently enacted Vermont Kids Code, Vermont is now the clear national leader in protecting children from the dangers of phones and social media.”
Vermont State Rep. Angela Arsenault, the lead sponsor of the bill and a member of Fairplay’s Screen Time Action Network Screens in Schools Work Group, said: “I’m grateful to our House and Senate Education Committees, and especially thankful for the tireless efforts of the Vermont Coalition for Phone- and Social Media-Free Schools. This group of wise, caring, motivated, mostly moms pushed this legislation forward in ways that perhaps nobody else could.
“With the passage of our bill, the school day will soon provide all Vermont kids with a respite from the pressures and harms that are now ever-present in their lives thanks to social media and other online products. The prohibition on schools using social media to communicate directly with students signals our understanding that these products are not safe for kids, and therefore schools should not direct students to use them. It’s as simple as that.”
Laura Derrendinger, one of the lead campaigners for Vermont’s phone-free schools bill and a member of the Screens in Schools working group of Fairplay’s Screen Time Action Network, said: “Now that schools cannot ask or require students to use social media through high school, this aligns with best practice informed by the independent research. This supports families. This also sends a strong public health message. These products are unsafe at any age.”
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About Fairplay
Fairplay is the leading nonprofit committed to helping children thrive in an increasingly commercialized, screen-obsessed culture, and the only organization dedicated to ending marketing to children. Fairplay works to enhance children’s well-being by eliminating the exploitative and harmful business practices of marketers and Big Tech. Learn more at www.fairplayforkids.org.