Mediaboss Marketing

CHESTERFIELD, Va. --

The Chesterfield County School Board is reviewing a proposed policy that would establish guidelines for employees who communicate with students using social networking sites.

It also specifies that employees may be disciplined for the inappropriate use of social networking. This new policy is one of 18 on the agenda for review and possible adoption at tonight's board meeting.

If the five-member School Board adopts the policy, Chesterfield will be the first of the Richmond region's four largest school divisions to have a specific policy addressing employees' use of social networking sites.

Chesterfield schools spokesman Shawn M. Smith said employees' use of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter has been governed by the division's ethics and acceptable-use policies, but the proposed policy is a more defined social networking policy.

"These guidelines do not change our employee expectations," Smith said. "They bolster our expectations with specific regard to social networking.

"Existing ethics policies continue to govern social networking for all of our employees."

The proposed policy is a guide for how employees should establish social networking sites for educational purposes as well as how employees should use their personal social networking sites.

If a site is started for educational purposes, it must contain a clear statement of purpose and outcomes as well as a code of conduct for all site participants. Also, the employee is responsible for applying appropriate security settings, allowing only approved participants access and to "diligently monitor" the site for inappropriate content.

The policy also states that the school system "does not recommend that any employee establish an online social networking relationship with a currently enrolled students on his or her personal social networking site(s)."

Excerpt from:
Chesterfield school system considers policy on use of social networks