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A state lawmaker in Florida wants schoolchildren to understand social-media’s potential dangers. File Photo by Twin Design for Shutterstock/UPI
Dec. 30 (UPI) — Florida state Republican Sen. Danny Burgess has introduced a proposal for Florida schools to teach a course on social media safety.
Burgess is again filing a bill that would instruct schoolchildren on the risks posed by social media.
“It’s about protecting kids. It’s about helping them realize things they do today may live long after they posted it,” Burgess said.
His current proposal, filed Thursday, is almost identical to a bill he submitted during the Florida Legislature’s last session and which attracted bipartisan support. That bill stalled in committee. The current proposal will be considered when the Legislature begins a new session in March.
Senate Bill 52 calls for requiring the state’s education department to develop a curriculum on the topic and provide online instructional materials for parents to view.
If approved, it would be the first time the state has required such a concept be taught in public schools.
The bill does not include details on potential lesson plans, but it defines what social media is, calling it “a form of interactive electronic communication through an Internet website or application by which a user creates a service-specific identifying user profile to connect with other users of the Internet website or application for the purpose of communicating and sharing information, ideas, news, stories, opinions, images, videos, and … other content.”
