Breathitt Schools got $27 million in social media companies’ settlement
Kentucky’s Breathitt County schools received $27 million in a settlement with social media giants Meta, Snap, TikTok and Youtube to address issues related to student mental health, attorney Ronald Johnson confirmed.
Breathitt County is among 1,200 school districts nationwide that filed a lawsuit against Meta, Snap, TikTok, and Youtube alleging social media companies created addictive technologies, causing significant costs for mental health counseling, tech programs and other services that schools paid for. Breathitt County Schools was seen as a test case, Bloomerg News reported.
The Breathitt settlement drew national attention earlier this month, No financial details were initially released but Bloomberg News and other media outlets have in the last few days cited documents obtained under the Kentucky Open Records Act in reporting the amount.
Johnson, a Louisville lawyer and the lead attorney for Breathitt County Schools in the case, confirmed Monday for the Herald-Leader a Bloomberg new report that Platforms Inc., which owns Instagram and Facebook, is paying the school district $9 million, more than any of the other companies, according to documents released under the state’s open records laws.
Snap Inc. and TikTok each agreed to pay $8 million. Google’s YouTube negotiated a payout of slightly more than $2 million, and was the only company that also agreed to provide the district with training programs to help teachers better use its video product in classrooms.
The “one-time payments add up to 8% more than Breathitt County School District’s $25 million annual budget,” Bloomberg News reported.
Bloomberg News reported that Carolyn McDaniel, the principal of Breathitt County High School from 2016 to 2019, said social media took up her time. “It was a huge waste of resources,” she said in an interview. “I had two assistant principals and they spent at least 50% of their time on social media stuff,” she was quoted as saying in the article.
“The kids would sneak their phones into class, video fights during the school day, vandalize property and bully one another online,” McDaniel added. “I remember our counselors were really struggling, even back then.”
Breathitt County school board attorney Grant Chenoweth on Sunday did not immediately confirm the amount of Breathitt County’s Schools’ budget. But on Friday Chenoweth told the Herald-Leader.
“We are pleased to have resolved this case in an amicable manner. As a matter of policy, the district does not comment on litigation. As part of its annual budget process, the district will provide more information to the community on how funds from this resolution will be used, including to address issues related to student mental health, wellbeing, and use of social media platforms.”
Breathitt County had asked for $60 million, Johnson confirmed.
Johnson confirmed the resolution to the Herald-Leader earlier this month.
“Our focus remains on pursuing justice for the remaining 1,200 school districts who have filed cases,” Johnson said earlier this month. Johnson said he worked with Chris Seeger, Lexi Hazam and Previn Warren in the case.
A spokesperson for those attorneys on Sunday did not immediately confirm the $27 million settlement.
This story has been updated to reflect that the settlement was with multiple social media companies and updated with the reported amount of the settlement.
This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 9:13 PM.