Parkway Teacher Says New Facebook Law Goes Too Far

In 2005, when Ashley Lam was a senior at , Facebook announced it would allow high school students access. Prior to 2005, Facebook was designed for college students with a valid college email, not the general public. Lam, now a photography graduate from , added her high school drama teacher as a friend on Facebook before graduating high school.

Under a new Missouri law, however, her teacher would be in violation of the newly enacted Amy Hestir Student Protection Act, a law aimed at protecting minors from sexual abuse in schools.

According to the law, a teacher cannot use a "nonwork-related website that allows exclusive access with a current or former student." In addition, the law says teachers cannot establish, maintain, or use a work-related Internet site to contact a student “unless such site is available to school administrators and the child's legal custodian, physical custodian, or legal guardian."

In other words, a teacher may not send an email, text message, or have any private interaction with a student, unless both school administrators and the student’s parents have access to the interaction.

Lam said she believes the law goes too far in controlling student-teacher interaction.

“I think this law is absolutely preposterous,” Lam said. “With the customizable privacy on Facebook, students and their parents can decide how much interaction teachers can have with their profiles, and vice-versa. The reason that my teacher got a Facebook was so she could communicate with us more effectively. Emailing was insufficient and personal cell numbers would seem a bit too close to the line, so Facebook it was.”

With school just starting, teachers, administrators, human relations directors and attorneys are looking closely at the new law to make sure the district is not violating it.

Online Learning Tools Threatened

Jason Rooks, senior programing analyst for Parkway, is in charge of administering much of the Web content and software in the district’s computers as well as making sure certain websites, such as Facebook, are filtered and not accessed by students while using school computers.

Rooks said the new law came to his attention even before it was passed, as he understood it could have implications for some online tools teachers use for their classes.

Parkway teachers, Rooks said, use a type of online learning tool called Moodle, which allows teachers and students to interact with a class from home using the Internet. Students and teachers can create posts, submit assignments, participate in discussions and ask teachers questions. Moodle, Rooks said, could be in jeopardy due to the law’s vagueness.

“We will have to talk to our legal counsel and see what they recommend,” Rooks said. “We have to take a look at the law, the wording of the law and have a discussion with teachers, parents, students and people on the curriculum-side of things.”

Julie Gerding, chair of the English department at , said she understands why legislators think it is inappropriate for teachers to be Facebook friends with their students. Gerding, however, said she doesn’t understand why it would also prohibit work-related websites, such as Moodle.

“There are many ways students can communicate with students and students can communicate with teachers,” said Gerding, who has a master's degree in educational technology. “There are many useful online tools that can extend discussions and learning outside of classrooms.”

Gerding said the bill particularly upsets her because it vilifies teachers and assumes all instructors would act inappropriately when using social networking sites.

“The main issue I have with it is that it is assuming fault where fault doesn't exist,” Gerding said. “Obviously, there are individuals out there trying to use social networking sites for inappropriate purposes. I don't think this law is going to fix that problem. If anything, this is going to have many more negative effects than positive effects. If people want to behave in an illegal way, they are going to find a way to do it.”

A Sign of the Times

Gerding said when she attended high school in the '90s, this was not an issue among teachers, but times have changed. She said now it seems that politicians are not in touch with the new online-learning environment.

“My thought when I saw this bill was that the intent is understandable, but they are not considering current educational practices,” Gerding said.

Rooks said the Parkway district has always had a policy of discouraging teachers from interacting with students through sites such as Facebook. On the other hand, Rooks said, the district also wants to make use of all available online tools that can enhance a student’s experience with their classes.

“I think everyone agrees social networking and social media are great tools and resources in the classroom,” Rooks said. “All of our teachers are very excited to engage students in new ways, to enhance learning and to bring about collaboration and creativity. In that, teachers are adapting really well. The tricky part is just finding the right tool, the right resource that will allow us to provide a safe environment with the student, be compliant with the law and still create the excitement a tool like Facebook creates.”

Lam said Facebook and email are simply the way this generation communicates.

“I have a personal, non-creepy relationship with my teacher and being Facebook friends is how I can keep her in my life,” Lam said. “Facebook is how this generation communicates and cultivates its relationships.”