Florida school board considers restricting teachers’ online speech

The Manatee County School Board in Florida is debating a policy that prohibits teachers from posting comments on sites such as Facebook or Twitter that would put the district, students and teachers in a “negative, scandalous or embarrassing light.” -db

Student Press Law Center
September 28, 2010
By Chelsea Keenan

FLORIDA — The Manatee County School Board discussed a policy Monday that, if passed, would limit what teachers can say on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

The policy would prohibit teachers from posting comments that could put the district, teachers or students in a “negative, scandalous or embarrassing light.”

The policy would also require teachers to obtain permission from students’ parents in order to interact with students on social networking sites.

Bruce Proud, Manatee Education Association business agent, said the organization met with the district superintendent last week to discuss some concerns with the policy’s wording in regard to teachers’ right to privacy and right to freedom of speech.

Proud said the MEA offered up alternative wording and is having the policy reviewed by an attorney to see if there are any procedural or legal issues.

“We’re waiting for the recommendations of the attorney and then we’ll see what course we should take,” Proud said.

John Bowen, an attorney for the Manatee County School District, said no event in particular spurred the creation of the policy, but the Sarasota Herald Tribune reported that a middle school teacher from Manatee County was recently suspended after he posted that he hated his students and his job on Facebook.

“We just wanted to make it clear that they are still subject to the same codes of ethics at home that they are subject to at work,” Bowen said.

Bowen said this is becoming a nationwide issue and the school board has looked at several other policies to help develop its own.

“We’re struggling on how to develop an effective policy and don’t want to violate people’s First Amendment rights,” he said.

David Hudson, a scholar at the First Amendment Center, said he’s seeing these kinds of policies more and more frequently.

“School officials are saying that [teachers’ comments] can have a detrimental impact on the job,” he said.

Hudson said it’s often difficult for teachers to prove their First Amendment rights have been violated.

“Normally you have to show that you are speaking as a private citizen not a public employee,” he said. “Then, in your off-duty, online speech you have to show you’re speaking on a matter of public concern. And you have to show your free speech rights are not disruptive to the workplace.”

The board is scheduled to vote on the policy Oct. 25.

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