The Missouri House of Representative voted to pass Senate Bill 1 (formerly Senate Bill 54) by a vote of 139 to 2 earlier this morning. The two Representatives who voted against were State Rep. Jay Barnes (R - Jeff City) and State Rep. Mike Colna (D - St. Louis).
According to this St. Louis Beacon article, Barnes said he believes this will cause Districts to create more stringent policies that will go against teacher's first amendment rights.
We will work with individual districts and teachers to make sure that all district policies continue to give teachers their first amendment rights, while at the same time allowing for proper use of technology. If a district policy goes too far, we will challenge it.
Senator Jane Cunningham filed Senate Bill 1 in the Special Session to fix many of the concerns of the social media section of her previous bill. Senate Bill 1 repeals sections of Senate Bill 54 regarding social media. Senate Bill 1 requires every school district to have a written policy concerning employee-student communication by March 1, 2012.
The language now reads: 162.069. 1. Every school district shall, by March 1, 2012, promulgate a written policy concerning employee-student communication. Such policy shall include, but not be limited to, the use of electronic media and other mechanisms to prevent improper communications between staff members and students.
Senate Bill 1 passed the Missouri Senate on September 14 by a vote of 33 to 0.
The bill will now head to the Governor for his signature or veto.
I agree with Representative Barnes. This law is going to create a lot of hassle and probably a dollar or two in the name of doing absolutely nothing to protect kids.
Posted by: Chuck Collis | September 23, 2011 at 06:25 PM
Chuck,
We promise to work with individual districts. We are going to rely on our members to keep us updated on their specific policies and questions.
Aurora
Posted by: Aurora Meyer | September 26, 2011 at 09:24 AM