Good morning, readers.
Durham Public Schools will join other school districts across the state and country in a class action lawsuit against several social media companies, including Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snap.
The companies have had detrimental effects on students’ mental health, states the lawsuit. Defendants include 14 other North Carolina school districts and 42 attorneys general. Durham’s school board voted unanimously to join the complaint last week following a presentation from a Greensboro attorney who is representing more than 60 school boards in the case.
“With individual litigation, a lot of times you don’t get the attention of folks,” the attorney, Janet Ward Black, told the board. “But in this instance, you have hundreds of school boards from all across the country banding together and saying…you have put a burden on us, and as a result, you should be paying for the consequences.”
School districts are the primary providers of mental health resources for students and have had to address the impacts of social media usage on young people, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and suicidal ideation. The lawsuit seeks to recoup money for depleted resources, compensation for mental health support personnel, and funding for more mental health support programs in the future.
In other DPS news, board members will meet with Durham County commissioners this evening to try to address salaries for classified staff and begin to work on the budget for the upcoming academic year, WRAL reports. The board is still waiting on recommendations for a salary schedule model to use in order to determine classified workers’ pay so no exact numbers will yet be under discussion.
Have a good Thursday.
—Jane
Durham
A new, career-spanning survey of work from the artist María Magdalena Campos-Pons is on display at the Nasher.
Wake
Raleigh will end its red-light camera program next month.
Orange
Orange County Schools board of education member Bonnie Hauser has requested a runoff election against fellow board member Jennifer Moore. Moore and Hauser were the third and fourth highest vote getters, respectively, for the three at-large seats on the board and were separated by about 460 votes. Read more about the race here.
North Carolina
Online sports gambling is legal and live in North Carolina. Here’s how it could affect college students.
Today’s weather
Sunny with a high of 81 degrees.
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