Educators learning dangers of Facebook
Comments via social media have cost numerous American educators their livelihoods.
By Lance Lambert | Published: 02/05/12 6:37pm | Updated: 02/08/12 11:13pm | No comments
by ALLISON LONG |
Sending too many messages is one way to get blocked by Facebook. John VanPelt, a teacher who lives in Lee’s Summit, Mo., recently posted on his newly restored Facebook page about being photographed for this story. (Allison Long/The Kansas City Star/MCT)
Some less than discreet comments via social media have cost numerous American educators their livelihoods.
A recent study by Janet Decker, an assistant professor in the University of Cincinnati Educational Leadership program, found a growing trend of school educators being dismissed for their behavior and online posts.
A legal analysis by Decker has been published in the Principal Navigator by the Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators.
“Educators’ online behavior is under tremendous scrutiny. Facebook posts have resulted in the dismissal of numerous school employees,” Decker said. “A Florida teacher, who posted that he “almost threw up” after watching a news story about same-sex unions, was asked to resign. After posting that she hated her students’ guts, a New York teacher was suspended.”
Decker practiced law before coming to UC and previously worked as an educator before going to law school.
“According to the U.S. Constitution, citizens have speech and association rights under the First Amendment and privacy rights under the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments. However, the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as lower courts, has determined the constitutional rights of school employees are not without limitations.” Decker said.
Certain federal and state laws outline unique responsibilities of school employees based on their special role in educating and protecting children. Thus, courts have upheld teacher dismissals when a separation exists between teachers’ private behavior and their teaching effectiveness, Decker said.
Decker’s article highlighted various ways school districts could address this growing issue, starting with educating their staff about the school’s policies and by giving their staff an opportunity to ask questions about the policies.
“Schools need to be empathetic and realistic to what’s happening in schools,” Decker said. “Make administrators and teachers a part of the policy formation … and make sure teachers understand policies.”
Technology evolves, new facts evolve and courts are slow, Decker said.
Much of the research complied in the article was obtained through Wesley Law — a database lawyers use.
It’s important for all fields and employers, [and provides] plenty of cases that do not involve educators, Decker said.
