As a coalition of volunteer parents and Vermonters we support legislation informed by independent* peer reviewed research to address digital and online product exposure. (Independent means uncompromised any funding (direct or indirect through front groups) which could create real or perceived bias in the policy recommendations)

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2027

Legislation Vermont parents & community members supported in 2026

April 23, 2026 Letter from VT-IRL Coalition to the House and Senate Education Committee members sharing the Common “EdTech” Product Vetting Organizations and Their Funding Sources/partners

Vermont data from National Assessment of Educational Progress showing Vermont Scores decline in relation to computer uptake in classrooms.

Recording of April 8, 2026 Representative Angela Arsenault presenting Opt-Out legislation

  • Legislation to require warning labels on social media products to help educate consumers in Vermont about the risks of harm posed by social media products.

    Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy called for warning labels on social media products almost two years ago, but Congress has not acted. New York, Colorado, Minnesota, and California have all passed their own laws requiring such warning labels.

    Vermont Phone-Free Schools joins call to create social media warning labels — Waterbury Roundabout

  • Legislation that would set 18 as the minimum age one can make a contract with and use social media.

  • On Screen Time And Adult Health: Physicians, Researchers, And Policy Makers Can Act Now | Health AffairsItem description

    Hopkins, J., 2024. Managing the right to disconnect—a scoping review. Sustainability, 16(12), p.4970.

    https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/12/4970

    • “In recent years, several countries have introduced ‘right to disconnect’ laws to protect workers’ rest times, giving workers legal rights to disconnect from work-related communication outside normal working hours.”

    • “Where disconnect is formally defined as ‘refraining from engaging in work-related activities or communications via digital technologies, directly or indirectly, outside of working hours’ [4]; RTD aims to re-establish a clear and sustainable boundary between the two different worlds, by ensuring appropriate rest time is carefully defined and preserved [5].”

    • “France is widely acknowledged as one of the first countries to introduce legislation specifically addressing RTD [2,4,6]. In 2017, they implemented a labor law that required companies with more than 50 employees to negotiate agreements with their staff on their rights to ignore their smartphones and other electronic devices after work hours.”

    • “In response to this, legislation was passed in Australia in early 2024, making it the latest country in the world to support RTD [15], which was the motivation for this study.”

    • “Though many countries have already adopted RTD – including France, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and the Republic of Korea [2,4,5,7,8,19,20] – there are still many more that have not.”

    • “Meanwhile, other countries like Germany do not formally legislate RTD; however, many companies in Germany (e.g. Volkswagen and Daimler) already have their own systems from preventing emails from being delivered to employees outside of their standard working hours [4].”

    Shaari, S.C. and Amirul, S.R., 2023, May. Flexible working arrangements (FWAs) in Malaysia: The missing component of the right to disconnect. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 1181, No. 1, p. 012013). IOP Publishing.

    https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/1181/1/012013

    • Some companies in countries that do not formally legislate RTD have voluntarily implemented internal RTD policies.

    • In Germany, Volkswagen blocks emails sent to its employees outside of standard working hours, and Daimler automatically deletes emails from the office during the holidays.

    Yaqoob, M. A., 2026. The “Right to Disconnect” in the U.S.? What Employers Need to Know About Emerging Proposals. Akerman. https://www.akerman.com/en/perspectives/hrdef-the-right-to-disconnect-in-the-us-what-employers-need-to-know-about-emerging-proposals.html

    • RTD laws have taken shape, in some form, in countries such as France, Belgium, and the province of Ontario, Canada

    • CA, NJ RTD legislation floated but stalled

  • NY State Senate Bill 2025-S10685 (template)

    DISTRACTION-FREE SCHOOLS | Distraction Free Schools Policy Project (template)

2025 Legislation supported by Vermont Parents and community members

  • By July 2026 all schools in Vermont, public and independent, will have a policy in place that prohibits use of and access to personal phone and electronic devices so all students K-12, can enjoy a phone free school environment bell to bell. Read Act 72

  • Any covered business that develops and provides online services, products, or features that children are reasonably likely to access must not use abusive or privacy-invasive design features on children. Bill Status S.69 (Act 63)