Youth Advocates Champion Digital Wellness and Mental Health at GENup Lobby Day in California (AB 2071, AB 1669)
- Aashna Parsa
- Apr 19
- 3 min read
Updated: May 3
On April 15, 2026, Youth for Neurodiversity was proud to join GENup for a powerful Lobby Day focused on advancing student voices in education policy. Together, students from across California came to Sacramento to advocate for meaningful change—including support for AB 2071, a bill centered on digital wellness and AB 1669 for youth mental health related excused absences.
GENup is a statewide, youth-led coalition of students from across California, seeking sustained education reform and the empowerment of student voices. AB 2071 is one of several policies on GENup's slate that Youth for Neurodiversity Inc. is proud to support.
AB 2071 requires the California Department of Education to develop a plan to expand digital wellness instruction in public schools. Backed by a digital wellness coalition of 40+ educators, researchers, and nonprofits and led by Assemblyman Josh Hoover (Vice Chair of Assembly Education Committee), we are excited that the bill has passed out of Assembly Education Committee, now headed to Appropriations.
AB 1669 will make it much easier for California college students to take a medical leave of absence for at least one full academic year if they are facing physical or mental health challenges. A major change is that colleges will be required to provide reasonable accommodations like flexible deadlines or testing adjustments without demanding piles of official medical paperwork. The bill also protects enrollment by not requiring students from needing to officially withdraw while on leave. To make sure everyone knows their rights, colleges must send out email notifications about these policies every semester and include them in student orientations and staff training.
Per the 2025 poll by Blue Shield of California (BlueSky initiative) and Children Now, nearly 94% of California youth report experiencing mental health challenges. Digital technology such as social media, AI-generated content, cyberbullying, and excessive screen time have been linked to worsening mental health. Although schools have technology curricula and mental health services, systematic digital wellness instruction is much needed to equip students to learn and manage the impact of addictive tools, algorithms, and AI.
Many assistive apps are part of the daily lives of neurodiverse youth for emotional regulation and executive functioning. These serve a critical purpose beyond social communication and learning. However, with the explosion of various social media platforms and AI tools, overstimulation has become a real risk.
While digital tools give all teens community, support, and learning, we know that constant use is addictive and weaning, especially from social media, often elevates anxiety. These impacts are not accidental; they are often as a result of algorithms prioritizing engagement over well-being. Furthermore, access to mental health services are inequitable for our rural and disadvantaged peers, so prevention and education is that much more important in schools.
AB 2071 is an important step in changing this, especially for neurodiverse teens. Digital wellness isn't about restriction, it's about equitable education that promotes balance and transparency. It allows youth to have the tools, protection, and awareness to thrive in the digital age. In giving youth the instruction, agency, and initiative, this bill allows us to become our own advocates for digital wellness, uplifting our peers through the power of knowledge.
Ultimately, our lived experiences as youth matter. We deserve technology that prioritizes rather than undermines youth mental health, and AB 2071 helps move us closer to this reality.
In Assemblymember Hoover's words: the research is pretty clear that kids should try to reduce screen time to the greatest extent possible, I also think that we need to be training kids with and equipping them with uh tools for how to manage their own screens and really teach them habits, not just for staying on screens, but also what to replace that with. So, I'm really excited about the digital wellness bill... Thank you all for your partnership and yeah, I'm really excited to get this thing to the governor hopefully and get it signed.
