Senate Bill 54: What it means for Missouri Educators

Editor's Note: MSTA Staff Attorney, Kyle Farmer and MSTA Director of Government Relations, Mike Wood, assisted with this post.

Many teachers have questions about Senate Bill 54 and how it will affect them. Governor Nixon signed the bill into law effective on August 28th.

The bill requires schools to share information about district employees, who are terminated or allowed to resign due sexual misconduct involving a student.  This provision applies to situations where the child abuse and neglect review board substantiates an allegation of sexual misconduct, but it also applies to district employees that are terminated regardless of whether the allegations are substantiated or not. As long as the termination or resignation is a “result of such allegations,” the district will face severe consequences if it does not share this fact with future potential employers. 

The bill also requires annual background checks for teachers, bars registered sex offenders from serving on school boards and creates a new task force of lawmakers and state child welfare officials to focus on sexual abuse of children and complete a study by 2013.

A provision that deals with electronic communications between district employees and students seems to be the provision of the law that has teachers asking the most questions 

What teachers need to know right now is that the law does not bar appropriate use of text messaging and social networking sites. Schools will have to address the question of what is appropriate and what is inappropriate when they establish a policy that is required by this law. 

For Facebook and Twitter users, the bill would require that any communications that are made between a district employee and a student must be accessible to the administrators and parents. This would seem to imply that the communication must be publically posted on the Facebook wall and that no personal communications can be made via direct messaging or chats on Facebook. For Twitter, this means you cannot have an account with protected tweets or send direct messages.

How teachers use email will be another issue for districts to address in their policy. Since school district email is owned by the district and they have the ability to monitor the email accounts, it would seem that appropriate email to students would be allowed under this new law. However, district employees using a personal email addresses should not communicate with students or former students. Refraining from such contact protects an employee from false claims made by a student about any e-mail communication.
Here is the outline of the language in the new law.

Every school district shall, by January 1, 2012 promulgate a written policy concerning teacher-student communication.  Such policy shall contain at least the following elements:

1. Appropriate oral and nonverbal personal communication, which may be combined with or included in any policy on sexual harassment
2. Appropriate use of electronic media such as text messaging and internet sites for both instructional and personal purposes, with an element concerning use of social networking sites not less stringent than the following:
   a. No teacher shall establish, maintain or use a work-related internet site unless such site is
   available to school administrators, and the child’s parents or guardian.
   b. No teachers shall establish, maintain or use a nonwork-related internet site which allows exclusive access with a current or former student. Teachers can still establish a nonwork-related internet site provided it is used in accordance with this law.
3. Exclusive access means that the information on the website is available only to the owner (teacher) and user (student) by mutual explicit consent and where third parties have no access to the information on the website absent an explicit consent agreement with the owner (teacher).
4. Former student is any person who was at one time a student at the school at which the teacher is employed and who is eighteen years of age or less and who has not graduated

As districts workout the specifics of implementing this policy, we will keep you updated on what it means for educators in Missouri. Your best bet is if you have questions to talk to your principal and superintendent. Let them know your concerns.

Comments

[Jean Ann Nichols]

I have a question: how does this bill affect teachers not employed with a district, but still certified. Does it?

[Aurora Meyer]

Jean Ann,
This is a great question! I'll check wit our Legislative and Legal teams and get back to you as soon as I have a clear answer.
Aurora

[Hannah Uffmann]

I would also like to know how it effects teachers still certified. I teach at a community college now. So does it apply to me since most students ar 18 or older? Former students in districts I used to teach at should I delete them even though I no longer work there? Or is it ok to be friends with them as long as they are 18?

[Patrick Lane]

My concern is with the wording of this sentence: "No teachers shall establish, maintain or use a nonwork-related internet site which allows exclusive access with a current or former student."

That doesn't say teachers shouldn't use private messaging on sites that have it; it says teachers must not use sites that allow private messaging. If the policy stated that sites/services should not be used in a private/exclusive way, that would be reasonable -- and seems to accord with the interpretation you've provided here (i.e., using Facebook fan pages). But that's not the original wording. It says the site cannot be used at all if it has the capability for exclusive contact/private messaging, not that teachers are merely prohibited from using that capability.

[Aurora Meyer]

Jean Ann,
I have an answer from our Government Relations team: Because these policies are going to be placed in school board policy, I don’t think a certified teacher that is not working will be affected by this. This bill does not establish a crime, or a penalty.

Basically teachers are going to be in violation of school board policy. If you don’t work for a district, you don’t have a policy to follow.

I hope that helps!
Aurora

[Aurora Meyer]

Patrick,
I'm going to send your question to our legal department. They will have the best answer for you. I'll let you know as soon as I hear from them.
Aurora

[Tommy Parton]

How will this law affect blood relatives and god children... I am a substitute teacher in the Northwest R1 District and I have half a dozen kids in the district that are nieces and nephews and a couple of godchildren that have grown up at my house that are students in our district and their parents want me as friends on their page to monitor their activity plus they can text me if they need a ride or are in trouble....... This law needs serious clarification..........

[Aurora Meyer]

Hannah,
As long as you are not under contract with a district and you abide by the guidelines from your community college, you can be friends with anyone you want. This bill is designed for students younger than 18.
Aurora

[Aurora Meyer]

Tommy,
That is an excellent question. Right now, the law does not address relatives or your own children. However, you are a parent first, so anything that you do with your own children will be just fine. Communicating with any other relatives should also be okay. As for non-relative, god-children you will likely have to limit your social media use with them if you are a teacher. The intent behind the new law is to keep teachers from inappropriate communications with students. Your best bet is if you have questions to talk to your principal and superintendent. Let them know your concerns. I hope this helps.
Aurora

[Jennifer]

I am friends with several of my students who have graduated, but also with several students that have not graduated. HOWEVER, I am no longer their teacher since I am at a different school (entirely different district) in the fall. Can I still be friends with them?

[Aurora Meyer]

Jennifer,
You are ok to be friends with those students who have graduated. As for the students still in school, regardless of district, the current bill states you cannot be friends with them. Your best bet is if you have questions to talk to your principal and superintendent. Let them know your concerns. Please also let us know if you have any other questions.
Aurora

[Jennifer]

One more question, Aurora--The new "district" I am in is actually a private Catholic school. Does this change my being friends with former students (who have not yet graduated) at a public school? Thanks!

[Scott Curtis]

My question requires a bit of background. I am a graduate student of Missouri State University (obviously a public institution). I am friends on Facebook with two professors, one of whom I have had in class and done research for, the other I have done neither. Would this law affect me, indeed any college student?

Thanks so much.

[Aurora Meyer]

Scott,
As a college student you are in the clear. Your professors have to abide by the guidelines of the university. Just to reiterate, the intent behind the new law is to keep teachers from inappropriate communications with students under age 18.
Aurora

[Leatta Workman]

It REALLY puts two teacher families at a disadvantage for monitoring the online activities of their own children with peers. A LOT of information concerning our kids is "invisible" to us unless we are "friends" with their friends.

Teachers DESERVE some basic trusts unless they have given us reasons to question their motives. As far as my concerns as a parent, the more trusted adult eyes on my kid on the web the better. In rural MO, a lot of teachers lead bi-vocational lives as pastors, youth leaders, community sports coaches and even as elected officials. People who help our kids by communicating with them!

The law could have accomplished as much by requiring parent(s) of the students to also be a "friend" of the same social network. My daughter has 2 teacher FB friends, but they first added me & asked permission.