Thursday, November 19, 2026 | 10:00–11:30 AM ET | Online via Zoom | Free
 

Massachusetts is one of only two states without a statewide phone-free schools policy according to PhoneFreeSchools.org reportcard.   The Senate and House have each passed a bill, S.2581 and H.5366, and a conference committee has until the session ends on January 5, 2027 to agree on a final version. This forum brings together researchers from medicine, mental health and technology policy to help lawmakers, educators and families find common ground and finish the job in '26.
 

Panel speakers

• Dr. J. Niels Rosenquist, psychiatrist and researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital and Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He studies how social networks and digital media shape mood and behavior.

• Dr. David Cook, Associate Professor of Psychology and Program Director of the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Gordon College.

• Dr. Michael Thate, MIT Media Lab, on how technology design affects public well-being and who bears responsibility for it.

• [School guidance counselor 
   

Our goal

• Help advance a phone-free schools law to final passage before the session ends

• Highlight where the House and Senate bills already agree

• Explore the key open question of whether the final law should include the House bill's restrictions on youth social media, or focus on phone-free schools and handle social media separately
   

How the forum will work

• The webinar will take anonymous questions, so legislators' offices, educators, parents, students and anyone else can ask freely.

• The forum will be recorded. Every registered attendee will receive a link to the recording, along with a written synopsis of the discussion.