Now, as schools begin a new school year, many face the challenge of educating students on respectful use of social media sites. The best protection from legal issues is clear communication and education. So, schools around the country this year will adopt social media responsibility into their curriculum.
In Pennsylvania, two students from different school districts fought their suspensions for creating false profiles of their school principals this summer in court.
One of the students was a 14-year-old girl from the Blue Mountain School District. She had been cited for a dress code violation, and out of retaliation created a fake profile of her Principal, describing him as a pedophile and even graphically detailed an event. She later apologized and took down the Web page, but was suspended for 10 days as punishment for the publication.
The other student that gained national attention was a Hickory High School senior who created a parody page for his school’s principal. On this profile page, he wrote as the Principal, claiming he enjoyed smoking marijuana and kept beer stocked behind his desk. The senior was suspended and then later sued by the school’s principal.
Judges ruling on these two cases issued conflicting rulings. One judge upheld the suspension, while another panel ruled the suspension unconstitutional. Legal experts are hopeful that the Supreme Court will soon clarify the limits of school discipline for online speech that is posted offsite. (Private schools are not subject to the same legal rulings as public schools. The matter of it being unconstitutional or not would not apply to private schools.) Until that moment, however, schools are tasked with the difficult challenge of teaching online responsibility through their culture’s principles, not the legal systems values. And, this can be a tricky situation when dealing with rebellious or spiteful students as the Blue Mountain court case shows.
Internet Activity Insurance: Concerns about social networking, risk of data loss, and invasion of privacy have increased significantly in today's technology-dependent culture. Private-independent schools, regardless of their size, generally have limited resources to financially protect their Directors, Officers, and employees from potential litigation settlements that may be costly. ISM's policy is specially designed to offer expanded protection for the ever-changing needs of private-independent schools.
Learn more.Have you heard about Engaging Students: A 12-Week Course Based on the 21st Century Teaching Model? This is not a course designed to deal with social media, however, it is a course designed for teachers looking to adapt to the 21st teaching model. Starting after school hours, this online course has been planned to work around staff’s hectic schedules.
