Resident tells board internal tech-company memos show platforms "onboarding" students and warns of a 'learning recession'

During the board's public comment period, resident Chris Lyman (1251 Taylor Drive) urged trustees to consider research and internal industry documents he said show social media companies steering increased use during the school week and contributing to declining student outcomes.

"Math and reading scores began declining in 2013, far before COVID. We are currently in what they call a learning recession," Lyman told the board. He cited analyses by researchers at Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth and said excerpts from internal Google, YouTube and TikTok materials were produced under subpoena in a federal lawsuit brought by more than 1,400 school districts.

Lyman read passages he described as internal strategy notes and staff chats, including language he summarized as: "investing in schools helps onboard kids into Google's ecosystem" and planning material that focused on increasing weekday watch time. He asked, "Is a school-issued device meant to teach a child or onboard them into a corporation's ecosystem?"

He also quoted a YouTube planning memo on weekday watch time and said product mockups from other companies showed features encouraging students to share activity during school hours. Lyman concluded his remarks with an appeal to action and a citation to the Lorax: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing will change. It will not."

Board members did not provide an extended response during the public comment period; the comment was part of the first public-comment segment of the meeting. No materials from the documents Lyman referenced were entered into the public record at the meeting.

Provenance: Public comment from Chris Lyman (SEG 083–153).