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Residents urge stricter cellphone rules and more supports for foster care, literacy and student mental health
Summary
Multiple public speakers called on the Palm Beach County School Board to remove student cellphones from school settings, expand digital safety education, recruit foster parents and address literacy and racial equity concerns in schools.
Several members of the public used the meeting's public-comment period on Feb. 18 to press the school board on student safety, foster-care recruitment and literacy gaps.
Jill Coleman, who identified herself with Mothers Against Media Addiction, told the board: "Phones are a huge problem. We need to do something about it. ... My child can go into school and borrow a friend's social phone ... and be connected with drug dealers." She called for policies that limit student access to smartphones on campus and offered her groups help providing outreach and parent education.
Ariana Casanova Silva, a student at Dr. Joaquin Garcia High School and president of Latinos in Action, urged the board to add regular, focused digital safety lessons. "Digital safety education should be a key part of our curriculum," she said, and recommended presentations at strategic points in the year to teach about cyberbullying, identity theft and appropriate online behavior.
Felice Perrotta, a foster home recruiter with Cayuga Centers, asked teachers and staff to consider becoming foster parents and said common myths about licensing can be overcome. "Becoming a foster parent is not as hard as you would think," she said, and offered to meet with school staff to explain the process.
Other speakers raised concerns about reading proficiency and racial disparities in discipline and mental-health staffing. Carl Mohammed and Donald Pearson urged the district to share more transparent data on student separations and reading outcomes in Black communities. Dr. Tanya Small and Anisha Grama Strong asked the board to increase supports addressing mental health and racial bias, with Grama Strong observing that "symptoms of depression, anxiety, and traumatic stress in black students are often viewed by adults as disobedient, anger, or insubordination." They urged more mental-health staff at schools and strategies beyond security personnel.
Why it matters: Speakers described urgent safety and equity issues that intersect with classroom time, student well-being and community trust. Several offered to partner with the district on presentations or recruitment.
Board response: The board did not engage directly with speakers during public comment, consistent with board policy, but the superintendent and staff were expected to follow up as appropriate.
Next steps: Speakers requested district follow-up; several offered materials and presentations to be scheduled with district staff.
