INDIANAPOLIS — A bill signed by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb aims to give schools the tools they need to teach kids how to stay safe online.
The legislation is something Joann Bogard advocated for after her son, Mason, died attempting a viral and dangerous online challenge.
"He wasn't really big on social media,” Bogard said. “He liked YouTube and would watch videos on how to make better fishing lures and master his wood working skills."
Mason died in 2019 in Evansville attempting the blackout challenge. Bogard found it shocking because she talked to her son regularly about social media but says she forgot one thing.
"The thing that I forgot to take into account was he was a 15-year-old boy with a brain that wasn't fully developed yet,” Bogard said. “He was very typical, and he fell to the ills of that."
After Mason's death, Bogard knew she had to do something. The result was legislation passed in Indiana.
A portion of HEA 1243 creates resources for schools to have proper internet safety education tools for their students.
Advocacy groups say these challenges are still an issue.
"We continue to see dangerous challenges circulate on social media that are either seriously harming children, teens, and tweens, even leading to death,” Marc Berkman, the CEO of the Organization for Social Media Safety, said.
Joann just hopes the legislation will save lives.
"Yes, I believe Mason would still be here today if we had some education in place,” Bogard said.
WRTV reached out to several schools to see if they plan on implementing the legislation.
None of the schools were available for an interview, but Noblesville schools said it teaches internet safety at all grade levels. It is still reviewing the legislation to see if they will need to make additional changes for the future.
The list of educational resources will be available for schools to access and teach by the 2025 school year.
As for Bogard, she is continuing her advocacy on the national level. She is urging congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act.
