Social Networking – Friend or Foe? an employee wishes to use a social network site or similar media for personal purposes, the employee is responsible forthe contenton the employee’spage,

Social Networking – Friend or Foe?

David L. BoweCommunication

SpecialistHays CISD

How Do We Communicate Today?• I can write you a letter…• I can email.• I can call you from my office

phone or cell phone.• I can text you.• We can video conference. (facetime, skype)• I can be your Facebook friend.• I can follow/add you on Twitter,

Instagram, Snap Chat.• I can actually talk to you in person?!

Why Use Social Media?• It’s where people are

• Provides a sense of community

• Seen as a forum to postulate views (Can I get a 3 AM tweet? Covfefe?)

• Fun way to stay connected with old friends or make new friends

• Forum for communication (individual/group/mass) and collaboration

• Allows for self-expression and self-representation

• “Democratizing innovation”

• “Crowdsourcing”

What Are The Risks?• Malware distribution• “Shelf-life” of information

(Never really goes away)• Privacy concerns

– Information about you that YOU post (Blac Chyna)– Information about YOU that OTHERS post (Rob

Kardashian – Blac Chyna)– Information about you the social networking sites

collect and share with others• Cyber-bullying (“trolling,” emotional abuse)

That Important “P” Word

privacy, : \’prī-və-sē, n. “The claim of individuals, groups or institutions to determine for themselves when, how and to what extent information about them is communicated to others.”

A Friend of Mine Is A Friend of Yours

What Are The Risks?• Can result in social engineering, identity theft, financial fraud,

infected computers, stalking, child abuse, sexual predation, defamation, lawsuits, mad boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/parent, unwanted legacy, embarrassment, …

Law of Unintended Consequences

Who’s peeking?• Friends\family• Friends of friends\family• Parents• Employers and co-workers• Customers• Universities• Marketing companies\vendors• Criminals\hackers• Government agencies (IRS, SRS!)• EVERYONE ELSE

But wait, what about free speech and stuff…

As a public school teacher/employee, do you still have the right to free speech guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution?

•Yes•And NO•Within reason…on matters of public concern

So What Does That Mean?When you chose a career in public education, you chose to enter a career with professional standards.

•Some of those are set by the state

•Some are set by your local district

•Have you read yours?

Is It Okay To Post This On Your Own Personal Page?

Even though it’s all legal…It may not be okay.

What About This?

But What About Sarcasm?

So What’s Wrong With This?• Texas Educator’s Code of Ethics

– Professional Standards• Professional Ethical Conduct, Practices, and

Performance–Standard 1.9: The educator shall not make

threats of violence against school district employees, school board members, students, or parents of students.

–Standard 1.10: The educator shall be of good moral character and be worthy to instruct or supervise the youth of this state.

From the Hays CISD Staff Handbook for 2017-18As role models for the district’s students, employees areresponsible for their public conduct even when they are not actingas district employees. Employees will be held to the sameprofessional standards in their public use of electronic media asthey are for any other public conduct. If an employee’s use ofelectronic media interferes with the employee’s ability toeffectively perform his or her job duties, the employee is subject todisciplinary action, up to and including termination ofemployment. If an employee wishes to use a social network site orsimilar media for personal purposes, the employee is responsiblefor the content on the employee’s page, including content added bythe employee, the employee’s friends, or members of the publicwho can access the employee’s page, and for web links on theemployee’s page. The employee is also responsible for maintainingprivacy settings appropriate to the content.

From the Hays CISD Staff Handbook for 2017-18

An employee may not share or post, in anyformat, information, videos, or picturesobtained while on duty or on district businessunless the employee first obtains writtenapproval from the employee’s immediatesupervisor. Employees should be cognizant thatthey have access to information and imagesthat, if transmitted to the public, could violateprivacy concerns.

From the Hays CISD Staff Handbook for 2017-18

• Only a teacher, athletic trainer, or other employee who has anextracurricular duty may use text messaging, and then only tocommunicate with students who participate in the extracurricularactivity over which the employee has responsibility. An employee whocommunicates with a student using text messaging shall comply withthe following protocol:

• The employee shall include at least one of the student’s parents orguardians as a recipient on each text message to the student so thatthe student and parent receive the same message;

• The employee shall include his or her immediate supervisor as arecipient on each text message to the student so that the student andsupervisor receive the same message; or

• For each text message addressed to one or more students, theemployee shall send a copy of the text message to the employee’sdistrict e-mail address.

UNEXPECTED DANGERS OF SOCIAL MEDIA BY: S.B. 7, the new lawpertaining to inappropriate relationships with students. This lawalso requires your school board to update its policies aboutelectronic communication between staff and students.In that context, it would be a good idea for you to tell your teachersthe story of what happened to a Texas principal who lost her jobthrough no fault of her own.• The middle school principal used her cell phone to take a nude

selfie and sent it to her husband. And only to her husband.• Someone hacked into the principal’s account, found the picture

and disseminated it to the students in the school.• The school board fired the principal.• The independent hearing examiner who heard this case did not

recommend termination, but the board disagreed with that andfired the principal.

• TEA Commissioner Morath has affirmed the board’s decision.

The case is not only colorful, it’s important. The Commissioner’sdecision includes a lengthy discussion about the standards for “goodcause” and the power of the school board to override the hearingexaminer’s recommendation.Key points:• “Conduct sufficient to warrant termination may be unintentional

conduct.” You can be fired if you are unable to perform theessential functions of the job, and this might happen through nofault of your own.

• The Commissioner provides an example. If a teacher is injured ina car accident that was not his fault, but that renders him unableto communicate with students, the board would have “goodcause” to terminate the teacher’s contract. Key Quote: Indetermining whether good cause exists, what is essential iswhether the employer-employee relationship has beendestroyed, not whose action destroyed the employer-employeerelationship.

There is a difference between the “hard facts” of the case and the“interpretive facts.” It’s almost impossible for the board to alter the“hard facts” as determined by the hearing examiner, but with thisdecision, the Commissioner gives his approval to the board changingthe “interpretive facts.”The “hard facts” are about what happened. Here, the hard factswere:

– The principal took the picture.– She sent it to her husband.– Some unknown party got access to it.– It was disseminated to the kids in the school, and well known in the

community.

• The critical interpretive fact was: has the principal lost hereffectiveness?– The hearing examiner said no.– The board said yes.

The Commissioner makes two important “conclusions of law” in thisdecision that lawyers will be citing in the future:• Good cause to terminate a term contract exists when an

employee’s effectiveness is significantly diminished.• Good cause to terminate a term contract can exist even when an

employee’s effectiveness would not have been diminished but forthe actions of a third party, even the illegal actions of a thirdparty.

Very interesting case on many levels, and certainly a good one toreview with your teachers, warning them about the dangers ofsocial media, even when you think you are only sending a lovingmessage to your spouse. The case is Esparza v. Edinburg CISD,decided by the Commissioner on March 17, 2017. It’s on appeal todistrict court, so we may not have heard the last of it. Stay tuned,and stay away from sexy pictures on the cell phone.

What If It’s A Post By The Partner/Parent/Sibling Of The Teacher?

• In general, this is a non-issue– Others with whom you associate not held to same standards

• When can it be a problem?– A teacher’s spouse posted:

“Teachers do NOT get paid enough. My wife has to teach a 3rd grade class with 29 kids in it - 4 can’t read, 3

don’t speak English, and at least 9 are special ed. No wonder she’s exhausted and wants to quit!”

Ethical Issues

Tips for Safer Social Networking1. Use a strong, unique password (don’t use the same password on

multiple sites; don’t use eID password on social networking sites)2. Provide as little personal information as possible – avoid revealing

birth date, address, etc.3. Understand and customize the privacy settings in all of your social

networking accounts4. Don’t allow 3rd party applications to access

your information (if possible)5. Be careful about what you post

a.Photos of self or othersb.Opinions on controversial topicsc. Don’t rant about classmates, professors, coworkers,

employers, etc. – it WILL come back to haunt you6. Don’t post anything related to your

employer (unless you’re authorized)

Tips for Safer Social Networking8. Be suspicious of friend/follow requests, ads, 3rd

party applications, chat messages, etc.9. Minimize exploration – don’t carelessly click on lots

of ads, videos, games, etc.10. Use built-in and add-on features in web browsers

to warn you of malicious sites11. Google yourself and scrutinize results12. Don’t post pictures of students on personal

social media – do class pages/group pages/campus pages/district pages

Think before you click!!

Use the Green Eggs & Ham Test• Would you like it in the press?• Would you like it on your

enemy’s desk?• Would you like it in EEOC’s or

OCR’s hands?• Would you like to read it on the witness

stand?• If the context will get you in a jam, then…

DO NOT WRITE IT, SAM I AM!

• It’s actual name is, “The Texas Public Information Act” (TPIA)– Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code

• Formerly known as, “The Texas Open Records Act”

• Under the TPIA, all information of a government body is presumed to be open to the public unless there is a specific exception to disclosure.

• Public information under the TPIA applies to information that is collected, assembled, or maintained under a law or ordinance or in connection with a transaction of official business by a governmental body that is subject to the TPIA.

• It includes:– Paper– Email (big one)– Microfiche (huh?)– Video– Texts (Yep)– Audio– Etc. (all)

• People can request public records, and we can’t ask them why they want it.

• We are legally required to give them the information, unless the distribution would violate the law.• FERPA - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

• Special Education information, health information, etc.• Or is non-responsive

• Really has nothing to do with the context stated in the request

• Or is otherwise private• Email chain contains someone’s personal email

address

• Betty B. Nosey submits a public information act request for every email to and from Hays CISD employee Ed Ducator for the last three years.

• Can Betty have them? – Yes, less any FERPA or otherwise legally

considered private info.• So what will Betty get?

– All emails sent to and from the Hays CISD email address of Ed for the last three years.

• Why does Betty want this?– Doesn’t matter, can’t ask

• You get what you consider to be a ridiculous email from a parent, fellow staff member, administrator, or any other annoying person who has no idea what it’s like to be in a room with 34 needy students for hours on end.

• So you type a response to said individual, but you hold off on sending it.

• After some time, you realize you should word it differently, so you delete and retype it.

• You’re all good, right?• Maybe Not!

• Maybe

• Maybe Not!

• There are documents/records you are legally required to retain.

• Do NOT start deleting stuff after you’ve discovered a request has been sent.

• But I was using my own personal phone…

• But I sent the message on my personal laptop…

• But I was on my break…– If you’re a fan of Friends, you know how well that excuse

worked for Ross. May not work for you either.

• Were you on the Hays CISD WIFI? – If yes, it’s public record.

• In my opinion, the value far outweighs the risk. I’d even say the dangers are exaggerated.

• Use social networking effectively and positively to establish new relationships, strengthen existing ones, innovate, learn, collaborate, and have fun.

• But beware of the risks so you can do your best to steer clear of them.

• And think before you click!!

Conclusion

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