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STAMFORD -- The school district's first social media policy has been approved by the Board of Education, outlining proper conduct for employees on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The policy is not intended to be an instrument for punishment, but rather a guideline for acceptable behavior and a resource for faculty members, Interim Executive Director of Human Resources Fay Ruotolo said. Ruotolo headed up the committee that was charged with conceptualizing the policy.

The new rule grants the school board the power to "regulate the use of social media by employees, including employees' personal use of social media," when use: interferes with the work of the school district; is used to harass coworkers or other member of the school community; creates a hostile work environment; breaches confidentiality obligations of school district employees; disrupts the educational process; harms the goodwill and reputation of the school district in the community; violates the law, board policies and/or

other school rules and other school rules and regulations; or uses social media to enter into inappropriate contact with students, their families or guardians.

It does fully not preclude faculty members from being "friends" or "followers" of students or students' families on social networks, Ruotolo said.

"If there's a situation where a teacher knows a family or a student in a different capacity, as a neighbor or a family friend, this helps protect them in terms of being connected to them online," Ruotolo said. "This is supposed to help maintain a balance of the private and personal lives of our staff members."

Though there were some concerns raised about regulating staff behavior during their private time during policy committee meetings earlier this year, at which the resolution was developed, Ruotolo said the district's public trust policy already lays out what teachers can and cannot do and publicize in their personal time.

The board's public trust policy states that the effectiveness of school board employees "depends on the members of the community maintaining respect and confidence in such employees in regards to their on-duty and off-duty conduct."

The policy further states that off-duty misconduct that can damage the public's trust and confidence are considered to have occurred during the course of employment. "Accordingly, such misconduct, even if it occurs off school property or during off-time, can be the subject of disciplinary action by the Board up to and including termination of employment."

The social networking policy, which has been refined over the course of a year, helps further define this public trust policy.

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Schools OK first social networking policy