Just in time for back-to-school, Jordan shares all about the Distraction-Free Schools Policy Project (DFSPP) that she has become involved with over the past year. DFSPP is a joint initiative between the Becca Schmill Foundation and Smartphone Free Childhood US that advocates for a better, safer educational experience for every child through legislation with 3 model bills: Phone-Free Schools, Social Media-Free Schools, and Intentional School Technology Use. In addition to being the Illinois DFSPP co-lead, Jordan is now joining the national leadership team to help support and strengthen existing and new state teams. We then talk about the differences between the Senate’s Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the House’s Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act. We share our excitement about two upcoming book releases: Natasha Singer’s Coding Kids and Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath’s re-release of The Digital Delusion. Jordan gives the tech-related updates for her school district in Morton, including a bell-to-bell cellphone policy and the removal of direct student access to YouTube on school iPads, and she overviews the recent board meeting discussion about whether 1:1 devices should continue in grades K-2. Jordan ends by reading a few recent article titles from her ever-growing Google doc resource that has been shared across the country.

Find Helen on Substack at⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Join Jordan in⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms.

Check out the following articles and resources mentioned throughout our conversation:

A state-by-state breakdown: PhoneFreeSchoolsReport.org

A major win for child safety: “Meta fined $567m”

An intriguing conversation: “DSFPP & SBS Present: Skills Before Screens”

A powerful read and watch: “Why Did We Let Big Tech Take Over Education?”

An upcoming webinar: “Big Tech’s Battle to Remake Education”

And for more, check out Jordan’s always growing, always helpful (and hopeful! And disheartening! And empowering!!) doc of Links and Resources.