NYC Bans Student-Teacher Interaction on Social Media

by Joann Pan

Should teachers in the digital age be allowed to Facebook friend and Twitter follow their students? The New York Department of Education (NYC DOE) says no.

The city’s first social media policy released earlier this week draws a clear line between city employees’ personal and professional accounts. NYC DOE Teachers cannot use social media accounts unaffiliated to the school on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and Flickr to contact students regardless of the nature of the message.

“The DOE strives to create professional social media environments that mirror the academically supportive environments of our schools,” the guidelines states.

Professional accounts for a class may be used, if pre-approved by the school. Communication with DOE students on the Internet is now limited to school-based platforms — social networks and blogs — for instructional, educational or extra-curricular projects.

The new policy focuses on maintaining the safety of students and the transparency of teachers’ work. Text messages and social media connections were noted in many cases of inappropriate teacher-student relationships, according to a New York Times report.

From January to November in 2011, 69 cases of inappropriate behavior between teachers and students investigated by the NYC DOE involved Facebook.

Every year, parents will be notified about the academic social media accounts used for classes or after-school programs. These guidelines also place limitations of personal email accounts. Academic social media accounts will only be linked to official DOE emails.

These social media guidelines are subject to change every three months, according to the official NYC DOE website. Since new social networks and updates crop up often, the city is prepared to revise their guidelines when necessary.

Do you think these new digital rules for prohibiting teachers from contacting their students online are beneficial or overbearing? Sounds off in the comments.