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MISD joins nationwide social-media litigation, board approves contingency contracts with three firms
Summary
Trustees approved contingent-fee legal agreements with three firms to join multi-district litigation alleging social platforms cause school costs tied to student mental health and phone separation; administration said attorney general approval is required and many Texas districts have already joined.
The Midland Independent School District Board of Trustees voted to join multi-district litigation alleging social-media platforms have contributed to student addiction and increased district costs for counseling and phone-separation efforts.
The board approved a resolution and contingent-fee legal services agreements with Thompson & Horton LLP, Elend & Bonin PC, and O'Hanlon, Demerath & Castillo PC. Justin Demerath, one of the presenting attorneys, said approximately 1,500 school districts nationally and 79 Texas districts have sought to join the litigation; roughly 49 Texas submissions have received attorney-general approval so far.
Presenters told trustees the litigation seeks to recover district costs that the firms say are tied to social-media-driven harms, including increased mental-health staffing and expenses and the costs of complying with House Bill 1481, which the presenter said requires districts to remove cell phones from classrooms and provides no additional state funding for that mandate. The presenter cited Midland ISD PEIMS-derived figures showing health-staffing increases from about 34 employees in 2017 to 114 in 2024 and estimated related district costs rising by roughly $1.5 million per year.
The firms will represent the district on a contingency-fee basis, meaning the district pays nothing if there is no recovery; contingency-fee arrangements in Texas are subject to Government Code requirements and must be approved by the Texas attorney general, the presenter said. The presenter said discovery would rely largely on PEIMS and district financial data and that the firms expect district staff time to be modest (roughly 20 hours spread across central-office roles in past cases). The board unanimously approved the resolution and agreements.
Trustees asked about protections for student privacy; the presenting attorney said the court has issued protective orders and that no personally identifiable student health information would be produced in discovery. Trustees also asked about the case's defenses; the presenter said motions to dismiss were denied in the federal MDL and that defenses include arguments about COVID-era effects and Communications Decency Act immunity, but the court had ruled there are limited exceptions.
Board members asked whether nonmonetary remedies, such as education or algorithm controls, could be part of relief; the presenter said abatement (education and mitigation actions) is part of the potential remedies the litigation seeks.
