May 30 (Reuters) - Records seen by Reuters on Friday showed that a Kentucky school district received about $27 million from social media platforms in settlements after accusing the companies of causing a mental health crisis among students.

The records revealed for the first time the financial terms of the settlement, with Meta Platforms bearing the largest share by paying nine million dollars.

Meta Platforms reached a settlement on May 21 with the Breathit School District, just weeks before a scheduled trial in June. This followed earlier settlements by the other defendants: Snap Inc., Alphabet (owner of YouTube), and ByteDance (owner of TikTok). The terms of the settlements were not disclosed in court.

The companies denied the allegations, saying they are taking extensive steps to keep minors and young users safe on their platforms.

When announcing the settlements, Meta, Snap, and YouTube said they had resolved the claims amicably. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said their focus is now on pursuing similar claims filed by 1,200 other school districts.

The Breathit School District, which federal data indicates serves only 1,600 students, accused companies of designing their platforms to keep young users addicted, leading to anxiety, depression, and self-harm among pupils, and leaving schools to deal with the consequences.

The school district requested more than $60 million to cover the costs of addressing the impact of social media on students' mental health and to fund a 15-year mental health program to mitigate the problem. It also sought a court order requiring companies to modify their platforms to reduce addictive features.

Meta warned investors that legal and regulatory reactions in the European Union and the United States regarding social media issues related to underage users "could significantly impact our business and financial results."