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Politics & Government

Teachers, Lawmakers Grapple with Law Restricting Contact With Students

Local educators say new Missouri law restricting social media communications between students and teachers continues to raise questions. The law remains in limbo because of a recent court ruling and a revision by legislators.

Kim Garbs, a biology teacher at , found that the potential impact of a new Missouri law restricting social media communications between students and teachers was getting close to home.

In fact, the law—whose final form and implementation remain unresolved—raised questions that touched the lives of her children.

“I had two boys who were students in the district,” said Garbs, who is also president of the Fort Zumwalt Education Association, which represents about 1,300 district teachers and employees. “I wouldn’t have been able to correspond with them.”

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The Amy Hestir Student Protection Act, also known as Senate Bill 54, was passed during the spring legislative session but remains in limbo because of a recent court ruling and a revision by legislators.

The original law places strict rules on the use of text messages, emails and other electronic communications between students and teachers.

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Local school district officials and teachers said the law and restricting social media raises a number of disquieting and unresolved questions.

One of those questions, as Garbs and other teachers found out, is whether the law’s language might prevent contact between teachers and their children.

But a major concern voiced by teachers is how the law may affect how educators can use emerging technology.

“We’re told to teach new technology, but we cannot use it,” said Laura Montgomery, a science teacher at Francis Howell North High School.

Montgomery and other teachers agree that the laws intent is laudable. But they worry that the law may add more work in terms of notification of parents and administrators  and limit how they can use technology as part of classroom instruction. 

The purpose of the law, sponsored by Sen. Jane Cunningham (R- Chesterfield) is to prevent teachers and students from developing relationships that could lead to sexual abuse.

The law bars teachers from using websites that give “exclusive access” to current students or former students who are minors. Communication through Facebook or other social networking sites would have had to be done in public, rather than through private messages.

But the final form the law may take now remains uncertain. The Missouri House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Sept. 23, as part of its special session, to revise part of the law. 

The House action would require public school districts to develop their own policies on the use of electronic media between employees and students by March 1, 2012.

The revision also came after a Cole County judge’s ruling that issued a preliminary injunction putting the law on hold before it went into effect on Aug. 28. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem called the law a staggering prohibition of free speech rights. The Missouri State Teachers Association had brought the original lawsuit.

Gov. Jay Nixon added a review of the law to the special legislative session that began on Sept. 6. He said social media are important to teaching and learning. But as of Monday, Nixon had not signed the new bill.

Todd Fuller, director of communications for the Missouri State Teachers Association, said Monday that his organization didn’t know why Nixon had not signed the law.

“That’s a good question,” Fuller said.

Fuller said Nixon had 15 days after the bill was delivered to him—until around Oct. 18—to act on the bill. If the governor takes no action, the legislation would go into effect, he said.

A spokesman for the governor’s office could not be reached for comment on Monday. Fuller said he knew of no objections to the bill. 

“He (Nixon) didn’t ask for it to be revised. He asked for it to be repealed,” Fuller said.

Given the uncertainty raised in recent months, for the time being, school districts are operating under their previous policies—with the knowledge they may have different requirements in place by next March.  

But Garb said some teachers have already taken precautions by deleting students on social networks and limiting access from their Facebook and other sites because of uncertainty about whether the law would go into effect. 

Local school districts already have rules limiting communications contacts between students and staff. 

The Francis Howell Board of Education approved a social media policy revision in January. That revision, which took effect Sept. 1, states employees are "prohibited from using their personal accounts to communicate with students unless the employee and student are related."

Any electronic communications must be limited to 'school-related matters,'" including but not limited to communications about coursework or extracurricular activities, the policy states. Employees are prohibited from discussing students on any social networking sites.

The Fort Zumwalt School District revised its electronic communications policy in June. The policy limits private conversations on a social network site, Superintendent Bernard DuBray said. Any communications between students and teachers has to be open and available to parents and administrators, he said.

St. Charles School District Superintendent Randal Charles said training sessions have been conducted in the last two years with district staff on proper use of Facebook accounts involving students and staff.

But local district administrators expect that any new policies in response to the recent court ruling and legislation in September won’t be entirely shaped by each school district.

DuBray, Charles and other administrators said their districts are looking for some guidance and recommendations from the Missouri School Board’s Association in drafting social media guidelines.

The legislation passed in September does not require local committees of teachers, administrators, students and parents formed to look at each school district’s requirements, Fuller said.

For now, policy can take the form of making sure that parents and administrators are informed of any communication between teachers and students.

“We just use good common sense,” said Matt Deichmann, director of community relations for the Wentzville School District.

Brian Smith, principal at Orchard Farm High School, said that teachers include a parent and himself in any communications with a student. That applies to coaches who contact their players, he said. Smith said it’s not that difficult to manage because his school is small, about 400 students, much smaller than other high schools in the county.

But Montgomery and other teachers said restrictions on direct contact with teachers could affect instruction. This is particularly true in advanced placement courses that require students to use special websites and take quizzes and report their findings, she said. She said they need the skills used to take these courses in college.

Montgomery said while young people may be at ease with using social media and the Internet, but they don’t know everything.

“They really need to know how to use technology, and they don’t,” Montgomery said. “They know how to use Facebook and know texting, but they don’t know how to attach different types of files.”

Crystal Wing, an art teacher at in the Wentzville School District, said direct contact with students can straighten out confusion about homework and other assignments.

She said the new law was confusing at a time when school district’s are moving toward more technology. The Wentzville district is providing netbooks—mini laptops—to incoming high school students and increasing the e-readers in school libraries.

“I just want to do a good job,” Wing said. “It’s so frustrating when you get this kind of technology and this happens.”

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