Legal Ease/School Law Notes: Are you in a fog about a blog?
By Michelle A. Todd, John L. DiJohn, Shayne L. Aldridge
As the popularity of “blogs” and social networking sites continues to rise, so does the risk that school employees will post inappropriate information online.
Many school districts have begun to discipline or even terminate employees for posting unauthorized images depicting questionable behavior or caustic comments concerning the workplace, colleagues, or school administrators.
Should a district concern itself with what employees post on their blogs on a Saturday night? Perhaps -- it all depends on the circumstances. But school boards should be aware of the potential negative effect public postings might have on the district.
While some blog content could be considered to be speech protected by the U.S. Constitution, at some point these statements might cross the line.
How much freedom does a district have to discipline employees for their off-duty, online conduct? How much freedom does a public school employee have in his or her online speech? Districts will need to confront these questions, and more, in order to identify potential liability when disciplining an employee for off-duty, online behavior.
School officials must act carefully and deliberately when investigating the scope and content of any alleged online misconduct. The first step should be a review of the posting or picture to determine its accuracy.
Next, district officials should determine whether the online speech violates any civil or criminal statute or school board policy. Further, the officials should document the effect the online post has had, or might have, on the educational environment.
Clearly, public school employees have the freedom to express themselves on blogs and social networking sites. But, unlike private sector employees, educators are role models for the children they educate. Parents entrust educators to impart basic societal values and qualities of good citizenship to their children.
While educators are free to express themselves as citizens, districts must retain the flexibility to discipline educators for publicly posting offensive, inappropriate, or even questionable material online that significantly disrupts their pedagogical goals or educational mission.
School boards that want to get ahead of the curve on this issue should consider developing a policy in cooperation with staff members who currently blog. Getting such first-hand insight from knowledgeable employees will help districts identify potential trouble areas.
The policy should make employees aware that they have no expectation of privacy when using district equipment to create, maintain, or post comments on their blogs or those of others, and that this activity might be subject to review by school administrators.
The policy also should set reasonable expectations regarding the off-duty, online activities of staff. The ability to discipline staff for off-duty blogging is limited. But by developing a set of mutual expectations, the school board can alleviate the need for confrontation in the future.
Michelle A. Todd, John L. DiJohn, and Shayne L. Aldridge are all with the Hodges, Loizzi, Eisenhammer, Rodick and Kohn law firm in Arlington Heights and Springfield, Ill.
Reproduced with permission from
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