School districts tighten social media contacts among teachers, students
A rash of local teachers charged with having sexual relationships with students raises the question of whether there is an increase in the number of sexual predators among teachers or simply heightened awareness and increased reporting.
Although the answer may not be clear, one thing is certain: All of the teachers were charged after social media or text messages with their alleged victims were exposed.
The electronic messages, including cell phone texts and messages on Facebook and Twitter, left a digital trail for investigators to follow, making it easy to identify victims and present the suspected teachers with specific evidence of wrongdoing.
That leaves school officials tasked with trying to figure out how to embrace the seemingly limitless educational advantages of the Internet and social media tools, but preventing them from being used to initiate and foster covert, inappropriate relationships among staff and students.
“There have always been inappropriate relationships between teachers and students,” said Gretchen Shipley, a San Diego attorney who has created a practice around education and technology. “But I think it has been more of a growing problem because the breaking down of barriers with social media and the ease with which you can talk with each other.”
It’s a dilemma for school leaders across the nation.
The New York Department of Education has a seven-page set of social media guidelines that instructs teachers to use “school-based” social media platforms to communicate with students and recommends against employees using personal social media sites to contact students.
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