Before the advent of social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, schools could rely on the simple test of where the speech or incident took place. If someone said or did something on campus, school leaders could discipline a student or employee. If the issue occurred off campus, their hands were tied unless a “substantial disruption” to school operations could be proved.

Social media has changed EVERYTHING.  It gives voice to everyone, and the First Amendment guarantees we all have the right to say what we want, whenever we want. We all want to believe that in a school community, there is a sense of personal responsibility, and people will think before they speak or post- but that isn’t always the case.

Say a teacher takes a sick day, and posts photos to social media of themselves hanging out at the beach?  Can they be disciplined? What if a student athlete has an emotional outburst on Snap Chat in a mini-mart? Does the Code of Conduct control? What if a member of the school community is openly cyber-bullying their fellow students or co-workers and the district gets multiple complaints? What can the district do?

In this (live/Zoom hybrid) Lunch & Learn workshop, we will discuss how social media uses in recent cases (Moorehead, Mahanoy, Manheim…) are blurring the boundaries of the school campus.

We’ll also discuss why good policies are critical, why it is a bad idea for teachers to “friend” their students, the pros and cons of district-sponsored social media platforms, cyber-bullying, and more. Bring good questions.

Our Presenters:

John E. Freund, III, Education Law Practice Group Chair

Avery E. Smith, Employment Law Practice Group Chair

Click HERE to register via Zoom Link or contact Don Loughney at dloughney@kingspry.com for more information.