Missouri Teachers File Suit Against Social Media Law

The Missouri Amy Hestir Student Protection Act, or Senate Bill 54, seeks to limit teachers’ ability to communicate with their students via social media. It states: “By January1, 2012, every school district must develop a written policy concerning teacher-student communications and employee-student communications.”

The bill, the first of its kind in the United States, does not ban social networking communications. However, it stipulates that teachers cannot communicate with students on social networks unless the communications are accessible to a third party, such as an administrator, parent or guardian.