Law & Courts

Mo. Lawmakers Vote to Let Teachers Refriend Facebook

By Dave Helling, Steve Kraske & Mara Rose Williams — September 26, 2011 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

———

Missouri lawmakers passed and sent to the governor Friday a bill designed to refriend Facebook and other electronic media for thousands of Missouri’s teachers and students.

Not everyone, however, has decided to “like” it—including Gov. Jay Nixon, who wants to hear what teachers and school boards think.

The Missouri House overwhelmingly passed a repeal of an earlier law barring most private electronic contact between teachers and students, including exchanges on social media websites such as Facebook.

But the new bill does more than just repeal the so-called Facebook law. It also requires local school districts to adopt their own policies by next March, “to prevent improper communications between staff members and students.”

Opponents said that part of the bill would simply allow dozens of Missouri school districts to illegally block electronic interactions between teachers and students.

“We are going to ask the governor to veto the legislation,” said Gary Brunk, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and Western Missouri. “It could be a nightmare ... these local districts could be all over the place, including (enacting) some things we really don’t like at all.”

But supporters of the repeal said the bill allows districts to tailor policies that best fit the needs of students, teachers, and parents.

“We don’t tell local school districts how to do it at all,” said state Rep. Chris Kelly, a Columbia Democrat, adding the district-by-district approach would help administrators quickly learn the best ways to keep an eye on electronic communications.

Missouri lawmakers—worried about potentially predatory web discussions—approved the original Facebook law last spring as part of a broader measure addressing inappropriate behavior between teachers and students.

That measure prohibited private electronic contact between teachers and students on social media sites, which sponsor state Sen. Jane Cunningham, a St. Louis County Republican, called “a pathway to sexual misconduct.”

But the new law brought complaints from hundreds of teachers and some students. A lawsuit was filed and a judge blocked the law this summer, leading to the repeal debate in the September special legislative session.

Nixon would not indicate Friday whether he will sign the repeal bill. Some lawmakers worry the measure is unconstitutional because it goes beyond the governor’s original request for lawmakers to use the special session to simply repeal the Facebook law.

“We need to interact with some local school boards and some individual teachers to see what their thoughts are,” Nixon told reporters at a news conference. “It appears that they’ve (lawmakers) gone in a broader focus than what my intent was when we brought folks to town.”

While Nixon and others expressed concerns about the Facebook fix, others said they were happy lawmakers were closer to clarifying social media rules that will allow teachers and students to use what’s become an important educational tool.

Mark Enderle, superintendent of the Fort Osage School District, said he supports a district-by-district approach. He opposed the initial, more restrictive proposal.

“It was trying to legislate a solution to a problem that did not exist,” Enderle said. “Social media is how students and teachers communicate ... To deny them access to that tool is a disservice to the student and the staff.”

Student publications teacher Patricia Smith, for example, appreciates the value of text messaging her students. She said not being able to use new technology to communicate with pupils would make her job much tougher.

“I was so upset (by the initial proposal), that I was willing to break the law and I told my principal and superintendent just that,” said Smith, who has taught high school for 13 years. “They were telling me I couldn’t talk to my kids,” she added, her voice cracking with emotion.

Carrie Cox, 17, and editor of the school newspaper, said most students thought the original law was ridiculous.

“It makes me happy that they edited the law to make it more flexible,” she said. “I feel our district will work with us to develop a policy.”

Enderle said district officials, along with parents, already have began discussing what an appropriate policy might look like.

“I’m sure it will be something simple, like communicate on all social media with students and parents being appropriate and professional,” he said.

Andrea Flinders, president of the Kansas City Federation of Teachers, said the repeal bill—if it’s signed into law—will provide clarity for her members.

“Teachers aren’t trying to do anything wrong,” Flinders said. “The sooner the district comes up with the policy, the better off we’re going to be.”

Some districts, Flinders noted already block Facebook on classroom computers — in part because it can be a distraction during the school day.

Meanwhile, several lawmakers said they were embarrassed they caused an uproar among teachers and school administrators. The House measure passed 139-2 on Friday. The Senate passed it earlier by a 33-0 vote.

“When we make errors we need to fix them, and that’s what we’re doing here today,” Kelly said.

Related Tags:

Copyright (c) 2011, The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Mo. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Law & Courts When Blocking Social Media Critics, School Officials Have Protections, Supreme Court Says
The court said public officials' own pages may be "state action," but only when they are exercising government authority.
6 min read
An American flag waves in front of the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 2, 2020.
An American flag waves in front of the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 2, 2020.
Patrick Semansky/AP
Law & Courts Oklahoma Nonbinary Student's Death Shines a Light on Families' Legal Recourse for Bullying
Students facing bullying and harassment from their peers face legal roadblocks in suing districts, but settlements appear to be on the rise
11 min read
A photograph of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who died a day after a fight in a high school bathroom, is projected during a candlelight service at Point A Gallery, on Feb. 24, 2024, in Oklahoma City. Federal officials will investigate the Oklahoma school district where Benedict died, according to a letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education on March 1, 2024.
A photograph of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who died a day after a fight in a high school restroom, is projected during a candlelight service at Point A Gallery, on Feb. 24, 2024, in Oklahoma City. Federal officials will investigate the Oklahoma school district where Benedict died, according to a letter sent by the U.S. Department of Education on March 1, 2024.
Nate Billings/The Oklahoman via AP
Law & Courts Supreme Court Declines Case on Selective High School Aiming to Boost Racial Diversity
Some advocates saw the K-12 case as the logical next step after last year's decision against affirmative action in college admissions
7 min read
Rising seniors at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology gather on the campus in Alexandria, Va., Aug. 10, 2020. From left in front are, Dinan Elsyad, Sean Nguyen, and Tiffany Ji. From left at rear are Jordan Lee and Shibli Nomani. A federal appeals court’s ruling in May 2023 about the admissions policy at the elite public high school in Virginia may provide a vehicle for the U.S. Supreme Court to flesh out the intended scope of its ruling Thursday, June 29, 2023, banning affirmative action in college admissions.
A group of rising seniors at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology gather on the campus in Alexandria, Va., in August 2020. From left in front are, Dinan Elsyad, Sean Nguyen, and Tiffany Ji. From left at rear are Jordan Lee and Shibli Nomani. The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 20 declined to hear a challenge to an admissions plan for the selective high school that was facially race neutral but designed to boost the enrollment of Black and Hispanic students.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Law & Courts School District Lawsuits Against Social Media Companies Are Piling Up
More than 200 school districts are now suing the major social media companies over the youth mental health crisis.
7 min read
A close up of a statue of the blindfolded lady justice against a light blue background with a ghosted image of a hands holding a cellphone with Facebook "Like" and "Love" icons hovering above it.
iStock/Getty