Missouri Outlaws Teachers and Students Being Facebook Friends
July 31, 2011 by admin
Filed under Lingerie Events
According to Missouri Senate Bill 54, just signed by state Governor Jay Nixon, any social networking is prohibited between teachers and students. This includes not only Facebook, but any social network “that is exclusive and allows for private communication,” according to ABC News.
How did this measure come about? Mashable notes that “inappropriate contact between students and teachers is at the root of the legislation,” which is “designed to protect children from sexual misconduct by teachers, compelling school districts to adopt written policies between teachers and students on electronic media, social networking and other forms of communication.”
From the bill:
Teachers cannot establish, maintain, or use a work-related website unless it is available to school administrators and the child’s legal custodian, physical custodian, or legal guardian. Teachers also cannot have a nonwork-related website that allows exclusive access with a current or former student.
So how has this been received? The law certainly seems to give the peculiar message that teachers are not to be trusted. Mashable reacts that “on the surface this sounds like a good idea,” although they question how it would be policed: “Inappropriate relationships will be hard to detect, especially since teachers and students engaged in such relationships would probably be concealing their communications, electronic or otherwise.” Well if we learned anything from Weiner, it’s to never underestimate how sloppy adults are when concealing inappropriate behavior online. So perhaps even these rudimentary precautions may be preventative?
But some find the law misguided. Randy Turner blogged that the law was signed “in spite of the positive effect that teachers and students being Facebook friends had on Joplin Schools’ effort to locate students after the May 22 tornado.[and] in spite of considerable evidence that social networking has been a positive force in education, and little or no evidence to the contrary.”
But the law is not entirely restrictive. The “direct contact” part is key to the prohibition; ABC notes that, “for example, a teacher cannot be friends with a student on a private Facebook profile where you can pick and choose friends and send private messages, but teachers can set up a fan page.” Nonetheless, the message sent by this law may discourage teachers from using social netoworking to interact with students altogether.
Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments
or send an email to the author at
usehgal at theatlantic dot com.
You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
