A Perpetual State of Wonder

Missouri judge blocks Facebook limits for teachers

world-shaker:

A new Missouri law prohibiting teachers from having private online conversations with students suffered a double setback Aug. 26. First, a judge blocked it from taking effect because of free speech concerns. Then, the governor called for its repeal.

The law limiting teacher-student conversations through social networking sites such as Facebook had been scheduled to take effect Aug. 28. But Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem issued a preliminary injunction blocking it until at least February, saying the restrictions “would have a chilling effect” on free speech rights.

Good. This is a topic that should be addressed, but this all-out blanket approach doesn’t work.

Our state put this into place this year, too, and my first thought was, “Really?  Isn’t that ILLEGAL?”  I have never added current students as FB friends by personal choice because I do not want them to have access to that side of my private life, but I do not think that the government should have the right to meddle in teachers’ private, non-school-time, non-school-affiliated internet usage.  That has struck me as an infringement of Constitutional freedoms.  I am glad to see this issue being brought up for examination in the courts.  Not everything that gets done to teachers is okay, contrary to popular opinion.