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April 10, 2011 School Districts Set Guidelines On Teachers’ Social Networking

Recent stories of teachers calling their students “future criminals,” “germ bags,” or saying they “hate their guts” over Facebook have grabbed media headlines. With a rising trend of teacher firings and suspensions due to inappropriate online behavior, school districts are now beginning to establish guidelines on what teachers can and can’t do on social networking sites.

Such policies are already being debated by board members and committees

In a new document, the district lays out several guidelines teachers should follow. Although they take no position on an employee’s online activity during “personal time,” the document offers a general rule of thumb: “If your blog or web page was a movie, it should be rated G.”

District spokesman, Christopher Patton, reflected on two cases over the past two years where teachers and students became “too close” online: