By John R. Schirmer
News-Leader staff
The Nashville School Board approved a resolution Monday, Sept. 21, to join a nationwide lawsuit against social media giant Meta.
State and federal suits allege that Meta, Google/YouTube, TikTok and Snap “knowingly engineered features to maximize compulsive use among minors, while telling parents and schools their platforms were safe. Districts absorb the fallout every day – crisis counseling, discipline, lost instructional time – costs these platforms created but districts alone are paying for.”
Brian Reddick, founder of Reddick Law in Little Rock, met with board members last week to discuss the lawsuit. He told of ways that social media companies allegedly get minors “hooked” on their sites and said schools deal with the fallout from their actions.
He said that much of the groundwork for the suit has been done already.
There will be no cost to Nashville and other school districts. “Representation is handled on contingency,” according to Reddick. “You win, we win.”
After hearing Reddick’s presentation last week, board members reviewed what he had said and agreed to vote on the matter at the Sept. 21 meeting.
Superintendent Doug Graham read a resolution to the board authorizing him to enter a contract with Reddick and the Lanier Law Firm regarding “social media harm litigation.”
Graham recommended that the district “enter a contract to pursue this legal matter. Once we sign the contract, we’ll be included. I don’t know the exact timeline, but we’re a client when the resolution is filed.”
The investigation has been done, and it’s now a matter “of getting in front of a judge,” Graham said.
Reddick told the board last week that the companies have “already admitted they’re at fault” and are ready to settle.”
The dollar amount will be decided, Graham said. In other settlements, payment has been made based on the number of students in the schools.
In Breathitt County, Ky., a district of 1,700 students received $27 million, according to Reddick.
If the lawsuit is successful, the Reddick firm will receive a 25 percent contingency fee from the settlement.
At any time, “We can get out of the lawsuit as we choose,” Graham said.
Other firms are also enlisting clients, Graham said, but Riddick and Lanier “have been at it from the beginning. They were ready to go to court in September when Meta said it wanted out” and was ready to settle.
The resolution passed on a 5-0 vote.
In other business Monday night, the board approved Graham’s recommendation to increase substitute pay to $85 per day. The current rate is $75 per day.
“It’s been seven years since we gave a raise to subs,” Graham said.
In the Scrapper Moment for September, Nashville High School senior Roland Schwope told of his journey to becoming a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist.
He mentioned four contributing events from his high school career.
The first was RYLA, the Rotary Club youth leadership camp.
Next was Arkansas Boys State, where Schwope was elected a county secretary.
Then came a summer program at the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.
“It was truly amazing,” he said.
Schwope also attended a two-week honors symposium at Harding University in Searcy. “It showed what college is like,” he said.
Schwope is one of four Southwest Arkansas students to be named semifinalists in the Merit Scholarship competition.
He is in the process of completing his application. “I hope to be a finalist,” he told the board.
Schwope said that if he attends college instate, he wants to go to Harding and be part of ROTC.
If he goes out of state, his choices include the Coast Guard Academy, Air Force Academy and West Point.
“I’m grateful for my options,” he said. “They’re all because of the support from the faculty and staff” in the Nashville district.
Prior to Monday night’s board meeting, campus administrators presented the district’s annual report to the public.
