Texas schools plagued by threats as TEA mulls cell phone ban; Congress looks at kids’ social media

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Just weeks into the school year, school districts across Texas responded to numerous violent threats. Nexstar stations in Texas reported threats at at least 20 schools.

State lawmakers on Wednesday discussed the impact of House Bill 3, a 2023 school safety law passed in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting.

Lawmakers and regulators at that hearing identified shortcomings in the law, which imposes broad security mandates including infrastructure changes, training upgrades and an armed guard on every campus. But some lawmakers said the bill did not include enough money to implement those requirements.

Rep. Steve Allison, Republican of San Antonio, said Texas has “created yet another unfunded mandate for something very important.”

The law provides $15,000 per campus for school security, but that “doesn’t come close” to the cost of a full-time armed officer, a school official told the committee Wednesday.

According to Dr. Kathy Martinez-Prather of the Texas School Safety Center, the increase in threats may be the result of a “contagion effect.” Schools see an increase in threats after a high-impact event with many casualties, such as the recent shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia.

Education commissioner calls for ban on cell phones in Texas schools

The idea of ​​banning cellphones in Texas public schools received strong support from Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath on Wednesday.

While discussing recent student performance on key skills tests, Morath told the Texas Senate Committee on Education that he would encourage a ban policy during next year’s session. He argued that smartphones are having a negative impact on student progress.

“At least from my perspective, cell phones are extremely detrimental to student learning,” Morath testified. “And if it were in my power, I would have banned them from every school in the state by now.”

Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, appeared open to the idea during Wednesday’s hearing, citing concerns about young people’s mental health. Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, praised several school districts that have already taken matters into their own hands.

“As we try to legislate against cell phones in the classroom, (Morath) said, and we’ve seen principals do that independently, and they’re successful,” Campbell said. “So it doesn’t take legislation. It takes leadership.”

If lawmakers pursue a ban during next year’s regular legislative session, they would follow in the footsteps of at least four states that have already passed laws banning cellphones in classrooms. California is poised to become the fifth state, if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs legislation passed by the state Assembly.

Jenn Wood, a mother of two students from Austin, said she would like to see the state pass such a law because cellphones are a major distraction not only when it comes to learning.

“If (students) are hiding behind their phones during recess, if they’re hiding behind their phones during lunch, they’re not looking people in the eye. They’re not talking to people,” Wood said Thursday. “They’re not growing and developing personal relationships, and that’s a huge impediment to social development.”

The Lake Travis Independent School District implemented a new policy this school year that requires phones to be turned off and put away during class. Now, students in kindergarten through eighth grade are not allowed to use cell phones during the school day.

Two years ago, the Thorndale Independent School District required students to store their phones in a “magnetically sealed case” during school days.

Rep. Ellen Troxclair, R-Lakeway, of Texas, said Thursday that this is one of the first bills she plans to introduce this upcoming session. She said she would like the state to offer money so districts can safely store students’ phones.

“Kids still have their phones with them, in their backpacks, in their lockers. They can obviously be taken out in case of an emergency, but from bell to bell, they’re free from the constant notifications and the constant distractions,” Troxclair said. “That’s where we’ve seen the most overwhelmingly positive results, and that’s what I would advocate for. Of course, I’m never going to mandate something like that without funding, and so I’m already talking to our budget officers to make sure that if that’s what our school districts are interested in doing, we provide them with the support, the encouragement, the funding to make sure that they can do it.”

Critics of these proposals have often cited security concerns as a reason for their opposition, as students would not have access to their phones in the event of an emergency on campus. Eva Noyola, a mother of two students from Austin, said this would be a concern for her as well, though she supports the idea of ​​keeping cell phones off limits during class time.

“My concern about this is that, given the security situation that we’ve had in this state and in many other places in the United States, things happen in schools,” Noyola said. “Sometimes they’re emergencies, and sometimes they’re really dire emergencies. I really, really want my child to be able to contact me and ask for help or call me in an emergency like this, so I’m very hesitant about not having access to the phone for the entire school day.”

However, Troxclair said Morath’s support for a ban on cellphones in classrooms could have an impact when lawmakers return to consider the bills on Jan. 14.

“We spend the majority of our state budget on public education,” she said. “As a mother of young girls, this is the right thing for my children, but as a legislator who spends billions of dollars on public education, we also want to make sure that that money is used efficiently and effectively to educate children, and not for something else.”

Recent data from Pew Research shows that cell phones are a nationwide distraction problem. That data shows that 72% of U.S. high school teachers said cell phones are a major distraction for students, while 33% of middle school teachers and 6% of elementary school teachers said phones are a problem.

US House Committee Approves Kids Online Safety Act

A House committee on Wednesday approved sweeping online protections for children, but many lawmakers did so reluctantly.

The legislation aims to hold tech companies more accountable for dangerous content on their platforms, but Democrats and Republicans said last-minute changes watered down the law too much.

“I don’t know if I could support the House version if it came up this way,” said U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor from Florida.

Castor voted yes in hopes of changing the legislation back to the version that had passed the Senate.

U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) voted against the measure because he was concerned that the House version no longer prohibits social media companies from promoting dangerous content that contributes to depression, eating disorders and substance abuse.

“This is exactly the content that has destroyed so many families and claimed the lives of so many children,” Ruiz said.

But U.S. Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) defended the changes he made, saying the legislation still covers content related to physical violence.

“My goal is to see this bill become law,” Bilirakis said.

According to Bilirakis, the updates will ultimately ensure that the measure is better protected against future legal challenges.

“Unfortunately, we know that Big Tech will spend millions on litigation to undermine the law through the courts,” he said.

Some Republicans still worry that the legislation would give the Federal Trade Commission too much power and censor conservative views.

“If the FTC decides that a design feature causes ‘severe emotional distress,’ which is a subjective definition that is subject to change, how does that not imply content moderation? It probably does,” said U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas.

Crenshaw ultimately supported its development.

It is unclear when the full House might consider the measure, as changes are likely and House leaders have opposed it. The Senate passed the version 91-3.

The Federal Trade Commission published a new report on major social media and video streaming services on Thursday, finding that the companies extensively monitored their users and failed to adequately protect them online, particularly children and teens.

Texas leaders develop new database to stop ‘threats’ from Venezuelan gang members

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott discussed a new database aimed at identifying and stopping the “threat” of Venezuelan gang members entering the United States, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

Abbott held a press conference Monday morning to announce the database. He was joined by Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw, Texas Border Czar Mike Banks, Houston Police Department Chief J. Noe Diaz and National Border Patrol Council Vice Chairman Chris Cabrera.

According to Abbott, more than 3,000 illegal immigrants from Venezuela have been arrested in Texas since 2021.

Abbott focused his argument on the “evil Venezuelan gang” Tren De Aragua (TDA).

“We must address this looming challenge head on,” Abbott said.

According to a report from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, the number of single adult arrivals at South Texas borders fell by 27.9% in 2024.

According to a recent report from News Nation, TDA began nearly a decade ago in a Venezuelan prison. TDA has since grown into what state and federal officials are calling a “transnational criminal organization.”

“TDA is known for brutal violence, murder, kidnapping, extortion, bribery, and drug, weapons and even human trafficking,” Abbott said.

According to Abbott, the state of Texas and several other state and federal agencies, through a collaborative effort, discovered that TDA had been given the “green light” to shoot U.S. police officers.

Abbott announced that Texas, in collaboration with state and federal government agencies, is developing a database that will identify which immigrants are affiliated with TDA.

“We will build that database by looking at common characteristics that TDA shares. Some of those characteristics include tattoos, scars, blemishes, types of crime and methods of surgery,” Abbott said.

To address TDA directly, Abbott has ordered DPS to elevate TDA to a level one gang.