West Virginia reaches 240,000 students with statewide online safety program

By AI, Created 7:05 PM UTC, May 19, 2026, /AGP/ – West Virginia completed its first full school year of mandatory online safety education, reaching students in every public school district and producing strong reported behavior changes. State officials plan to continue the program in fall 2026, giving Skyll and the Safe Surfin’ Foundation a statewide proof point for interactive safety curriculum.

Why it matters: - West Virginia’s results give schools a statewide test case for mandatory online safety instruction. - The program reached 240,000 students in grades 3 through 12 across every public school district. - Behavioral data from more than 75,000 students showed 88% to 96% change across every online safety metric measured. - The findings suggest interactive safety lessons can move beyond awareness and change student behavior.

What happened: - Skyll Inc. and the Safe Surfin’ Foundation completed the first full school year of West Virginia’s mandatory online safety education program. - The program was required under Senate Bill 466. - The West Virginia Department of Education plans to continue the program for a second year starting in fall 2026. - Skyll delivered the curriculum through its Movie Games platform.

The details: - Students faced interactive scenarios involving sextortion, catfishing, cyberbullying, AI-generated scams, and grooming. - The program used choice-based cinematic gameplay to show consequences and rehearse safer responses. - The Safe Surfin’ Foundation developed the Cyber S.W.A.T. curriculum framework that became the basis for Senate Bill 466. - The foundation was created in 1998 by retired Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown. - Brown spent more than two decades working with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. - Skyll built two program titles: Miss Informed: Ember Valley for grades 6-12 and RealmQuest for grades 3-5. - Both titles were designed to meet Cyber S.W.A.T. standards. - Year-one assessments found that 96% of students can now recognize a scam, exploitation, or sextortion attempt. - 96% know how to report online threats and find help. - 95% are more likely to talk to a trusted adult about concerning online activity. - 95% are aware of resources like the Cyber Tipline for sextortion victims. - 92% are more likely to question whether online profiles are real. - 90% are less likely to meet in person someone they only know online. - More than 80% voluntarily played bonus content beyond their assignment. - Skyll’s platform is deployed statewide in West Virginia and also serves K-12 schools, districts, and youth-serving organizations. - More information is available at Skyll and Safe Surfin’ Foundation.

Between the lines: - West Virginia is being framed as a proof of concept for a model that combines curriculum standards with interactive storytelling. - The reported gains are especially notable because the program covers both younger students and older teens with age-specific titles. - The districtwide rollout and the size of the assessment sample give the results more weight than a small pilot would.

What’s next: - West Virginia will continue the program into the 2026-27 school year. - Skyll and the Safe Surfin’ Foundation are positioning the results for other states considering mandatory online safety education. - The next test is whether other state education systems move from interest to adoption.

The bottom line: - West Virginia now has a full year of statewide data backing mandatory, interactive online safety education.