Should school staff be allowed to use social media to communicate with students?
STAFFORD, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - It’s not unusual for your kids to get emails from their teachers and administrators but should school staff be able to reach out to children through social media?
This is a new hot topic in northern Virginia especially as one superintendent is under investigation for direct messaging students through Twitter and another county school system is considering the implementation of a new employee code of conduct.
The discussion here at Stafford County Public Schools comes amid an ongoing investigation to the north in Prince William County where the district’s superintendent is accused of having inappropriate private messages with students without their parents knowing.
In Stafford, the plan to take a look at developing an employee code of conduct came up on Tuesday at a board meeting.
FOX 5’s Tisha Lewis reports discussions to review current policies regarding employees’ conduct, behavior and interaction will be reviewed again later this month at a June 23rd board meeting where board members could vote to have an employee code of conduct.
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A spokesperson for Stafford County Public Schools emailed FOX 5 saying nothing was adopted and nothing is official at this time but it could include an electronics policy for staff and their interaction with students.
The discussion though comes at a time when teachers are having more than usual online communication with students for distance learning.
This story first appeared Potomac Local News.
For the most part, staff must use school approved platforms to communicate with students and cannot communicate with students on personal and private accounts.
Right now, Stafford County Public Schools has no employee code of conduct rather several policies that staff must follow.
A spokesperson for the district says developing an employee code of conduct is not in response to the ongoing investigation involving Prince William County’s superintendent and private messages he sent students.