A Northampton County school is considering a major change in its social media policy, several months after one of its former teachers was sentenced for having sex with a student.
The policy, under consideration by the Bangor Area School Board, would regulate employee usage of several social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, according to the Express-Times. The Express-Times also reports the policy would ban all communication between employees and students through personal social media accounts while still allowing employees to use professional Twitter and Facebook accounts to offer educational instructions or reminders to students.
The Express-Times reports the district would reserve the right to “inspect, review or retain” any social media content that is created, shared, stored or viewed on the district’s computer system. The policy would also allow the district to inspect all devices, including personal ones, brought onto district property, according to the Express-Times. Finally, under the policy, employees would not be allowed to use personal social media accounts during the school day, post information that conveys sex or drug and alcohol usage or make terroristic threats online, according to the Express-Times.
Last April, former Bangor Area High School teacher Rachel Farrell, 26, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for having sex with her 17-year-old student back in August of 2010. She was sentenced to 23-months in prison for corruption of a minor. The Express-Times reports Farrell admitted the relationship with the student began through messages sent on Facebook. The Bangor Area School Board president tells the Express-Times the newly proposed policy has nothing to do with that incident however.
The District instead told the Express-Times the policy was inspired by a similar one adopted by the Phillipsburg School Board. Final approval of the policy is expected in January, according to the Express-Times.