Ohio district puts Facebook limits on teachers

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Teachers cannot become friendly with students on Facebook and other social networking sites and can’t text or send them instant messages under a new policy in one of Ohio’s largest school districts.

The Dayton Public Schools also prohibits teachers from responding to students’ attempts at communicating through any personal or professional accounts not approved by the district  the Dayton Daily News reported.

The Dayton district adopted the rules after consulting with the Ohio School Boards Association. The association has said it’s seeing more interest from school districts on the issue of teachers and social media and has suggested districts lay out policies against teachers fraternizing with students through electronic media, the newspaper reported.

School districts can’t ignore social media as a tool of communication, but “as with any medium of communication, it can be misused,” Hollie Reedy, chief counsel for the state association told the Dayton Daily News.

Although teachers in Missouri have protested a state law limiting online communication between teachers and students, the president of the Dayton teachers union welcomes the new policy.

“I think in this age of all this media out there, that’s probably a safe thing for our teachers,” said David Romick, president of the Dayton Education Association. “We hear stories all the time about kids who, for various reasons, (retaliate) against teachers on social media.”

Missouri lawmakers approved a ban on teachers having private conversations with students over Internet sites after more than 80 Missouri teachers lost their licenses between 2001 and 2005 because of sexual misconduct, the Dayton newspaper reported. Some of those cases involved exchanging explicit online messages with students.

Missouri’s governor wants the law repealed after a judge, concerned about free speech rights, temporarily blocked it. Teachers have complained that the law will hamper their ability to keep in touch with students.

Some other southwest Ohio school districts prohibit staff members from accessing social network sites during school hours and on district equipment, the newspaper reported.

Beavercreek City Schools Superintendent Nick Verhoff said his district’s policy authorizes teachers to access social media from the district’s network, providing there is an educational purpose and they have the principal’s approval.

Personal access and use of social media, blogs or chat rooms from the district’s network is prohibited, Verhoff said.

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Information from: Dayton Daily News, http://www.daytondailynews.com

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