Missouri Governor Signs Law Repealing Teacher Social Media Restrictions

A portion of a controversial Missouri law that restricted the ability of teachers to interact with students on social media and websites has been repealed.

Gov. Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon (D-MO) signed Senate Bill 1, eliminating Section 162.069 of SB 54 — the Amy Hestir Student Protection Act — which prevented teachers from using a work-related website or social media platform to communicate with students unless parents and administrators also had access. The provision in SB 54 was also applicable to educators’ non-work, private website and social network use. In his signing message regarding SB 1, Nixon said the law was an improvement “primarily through subtraction” and while not perfect, having teachers “conform to the unreasonable restrictions” of SB 54 was a “far worse result.” The new law, like SB 54, mandates that school districts in Missouri have a written policy in place next year that outlines proper electronic communication between teachers and students, including social media. But instead of focusing on the substance of the communication between the parties, SB 1 takes aim at the use of the technology in general. The individual school district policies must also be drafted in a way to “prevent” improper communication without infringing on appropriate messages, according to a statement by Nixon.