New Missouri Law to Forbid Facebook Friending Among Teachers, Students (school districts, college)

[Versatile]

MISSOURI FACEBOOK LAW: New Missouri Law to Forbid Facebook Friending Among Teachers, Students - WDAF (http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-missouri-facebook-law-20110801,0,2853685.story - broken link)

A new law, expected to take effect on August 28, will prohibit teachers and students from friending each other on Facebook. But that's not all. The new law wants to nix all private electronic communication between Missouri teachers and students.

[aragx6]

This seems like a bizarre over-stepping of government to me. I mean you can make groups -- coworkers, family, friends etc. and I think it could be a good way to keep up with students.

I also don't get this line: "With online communication being the norm these days, and with younger and younger teachers being hired, Missouri lawmakers want to prevent inappropriate relationships from developing online."

Teachers out there: Is this true? Seems like recent post-college grads have been teaching for years.

And is there evidence to suggest that online relationships become inappropriate more readily than in-person relationships? Seems to me, if a teacher is a sick, sick sicko who wants to get intimate with a student, it's just as easy to do that now as it was 10 years ago pre-Facebook.

[dusky_beauty]

I think this is being more as a deterrent law. The only way I can envision where it will actually be punished is a "nail in the coffin" situation after the fact of a teacher being romantically involved with a student.

I don't think highly of this. I attended high school in a very small town and most of my more "professional" classmates were on friendly terms with our teachers in a completely professional way. If I had facebook available at the time I would have used it to keep in touch with the english teacher who advised my poetry club, or the department head I interned for, or a few others that were good, appropriate role models.
Hopefully they put a cap on it, I feel a 5 year grace period would be a fair buffer for a former student/teacher relationship to "expire" until it is appropriate to interact.

[christina0001]

I also do not think this is an appropriate use of government. School districts should set their own policy.

[onegoalstl]

More like could be a first amendment violation of free speech.

How will they enforce this? if they did they would have to build more jails, hire more prosecuters, build more court rooms, and hire more judges. There would be THOUSANDS of cases. The courts wouldn't be able to handle it.

[dusky_beauty]

The article stated that this is "on the honor system".

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by dusky_beauty

The article stated that this is "on the honor system".

Yes, it seems to largely depend on the requirement that all MO schools enact a policy in line with the law. I'd probably call that a bit above the honor system, but you're not going to see teachers getting locked up for violation.

And does the law prescribe what they consider a fair punishment for breaking this policy? Would it be firing? Or could a school simply make it one of those "slaps on the wrist?"

[lifelongMOgal]

If most parents supervised their children's internet activity this would be a non-issue.

[socaldream]

Seems kind of stupid to me. That being said, it may be prudent for teachers to keep student/teacher communication to more traditional channels: classroom, phone, mail, perhaps email. Sometimes young people post too much on facebook and don't filter. Or teachers post gripes about students that don't need to be on there either.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by dusky_beauty

The article stated that this is "on the honor system".

Any "law" that's unenforcable and/or provides for no consequences is a waste of paper and ink and the peoples' money spent enacting it. This is akin to Californication!