Private Nais School Promoting Play on Social Media

By Marker E. Brossman, Donna Lazarus, and Diane Rosen

Most educators agree that instruction social media in school is as of import as teaching traditional subjects similar math and science. The impact of social media on independent schools is ubiquitous, challenging, and often contentious. They include inappropriate communications among students; apportionment of racist, anti-Semitic, or sexist comments, "jokes," and images; threats of violence; explicit sexual images; and bullying or other types of intimidation or shaming. While there is usually no intention for the offending posts to be seen by anyone other than one person or a small group of friends, increasingly, they are ofttimes widely distributed and cause an uproar in the school customs. What to exercise in these circumstances falls on the school, fifty-fifty when the matter occurs outside of school.

So how practice leaders and administrators create policies that set forth appropriate utilise of the school's technology and student-owned technology at schoolhouse? Should schools develop policies that accost social media apply on student-endemic technology off-campus? And how exercise schools handle discipline when students violate those policies? Many school leaders find that they are creating policies or trying to employ other schoolhouse policies to social media use in the thick of a crisis. Instead, schools should exist proactive nearly this rapidly evolving area.

The Problems at Hand

About education attorneys use the U.S. Department of Education's definition of social media: "forms of communication either internet- or text-based that support social interactions of individuals." Students of all ages use social media with increasing frequency for social networking (Facebook, LinkedIn), microblogging (Twitter, Tumblr), photo sharing (Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest), and video sharing (YouTube, Facebook Live, Periscope, Vimeo), according to "Teens, Social Media & Engineering 2018," a Pew Inquiry Center report. Ninety-5 percent of teenagers accept a smartphone or access to one, and 45% say they are online "nigh constantly," according to the Pew report. New apps are constantly evolving, and it's articulate that social media is here to stay. So are the issues that schools are facing. And from a legal perspective, the most common problems they are grappling with include cyberbullying, sexting, and threats (of violence and self-harm).

As a way to brainstorm understanding the problems, we suggest considering land and local laws—which don't necessarily use to independent schools—for guidance. As schools delve into the issue of cyberbullying, for example, they tin explore the laws related to harassment and bullying. New York's Dignity for All Students Deed describes cyberbullying every bit "harassment or bullying by any grade of electronic advice" and "includes incidents occurring off school property that creates or would foreseeably create a hazard of substantial disruption inside the school environment."

Acts of bullying include, just are not limited to, those acts based on an bodily or perceived power imbalance or based on a person's bodily or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender, or sexual practice. Where the acts are based on a personal characteristic protected by law, it may also be considered harassment. The New York State Education Department has noted that "cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information well-nigh someone else to cause embarrassment or humiliation." Some cyberbullying may be criminal.

The utilise of social media to transport sexual images, or sexting, has go an upshot for which schools often crave legal assistance. The act may plant a criminal offence nether state and federal pornography laws, so schools that come in possession of an epitome of a kid that may constitute kid pornography should seek counsel.

Meanwhile, nosotros've likewise seen students use social media to make threats to commit acts of violence against other students, faculty, or the schoolhouse itself. In this age of mass shootings, it'southward critical to understand that all such threats demand to be taken seriously. Some schools appoint outside "threat cess" experts to advise them on specific incidents and more than broadly. For some schools, when they perceive a threat, they may suspend the child, pending an opinion from a mental health professional that the student does non pose a risk to themselves or others. In some other cases, law enforcement may exist notified.

Another type of threat—students expressing thoughts of suicide, self-damage, eating disorders, and other mental wellness concerns via social media—requires the school's sensation, attention, and sometimes legal assistance likewise. In some cases, students volition meet a post from some other student and will share information technology with the school. Understanding student wellness and well-being, every bit well as having a plan to back up students, can exist the beginning step to protecting the school community.

When Should Schools Get Involved?

Student use of electronic communication that is school-owned or regulated, or that occurs on campus or at a school consequence or activity, clearly requires involvement and oversight by schools. The more challenging questions revolve around whether a school should become involved in regulating off-campus social media interactions. And if and then, when and to what extent?

Some schools attempt to avoid interest in off-campus activity, including social media matters, reasoning that parents, not schools, should address such behavior. These schools either don't address off-campus social media and electronic communication issues in their policies, or they include language in their enrollment contract that releases their schoolhouse from claims arising off campus. Other schools, specially boarding schools, are very involved in pupil electronic communication and social media use, even if it'south off campus.

Most schools, however, land somewhere in the eye and become involved in off-campus electronic advice and social media apply when it impacts the school surroundings, such as in the instance of cyberbullying or harassment among students. While the action and interactions may take occurred off campus, information technology involves the ongoing relationship of the students at the schoolhouse. In these circumstances, the parents of the child being harassed or bullied wait the school to "protect" their child. Schools also become involved when they larn of social media letters that involve a safety issue or threat (suicide or violence) or unlawful activity (drug use and dealing).

Best Practices

Schoolhouse policies will vary based on the historic period of schoolhouse populations, applicable law, and school civilisation, but all schools should have an Adequate Use Policy (AUP) in educatee/family unit handbooks, which students and parents tin can sign off on. At a minimum, the policies can include guidance regarding passwords and privacy (keeping passwords confidential, not attempting to guess another person'south password, etc.); intellectual property and academic honesty/plagiarism; hacking and viruses (barring distribution of viruses, listing means students can avoid hacking sites, etc.); internet restrictions for educational employ; and an caption that engineering science resource must be used in compliance with all other school rules and community standards (banning harassment, discrimination, bullying, etc.).

An AUP should also explain that students don't have whatsoever right to privacy on school-owned technology or when they're using their own devices on the school's networks, and that the schoolhouse may monitor or search for such apply at its discretion. If inappropriate apply, such every bit playing video games or accessing inappropriate sites or images, is found, students may be disciplined.

Information technology is important to conceptualize and gear up for the inevitable social media-related student crisis or discipline state of affairs. To exercise then, in addition to an AUP, schools should create specific policies effectually issues. For example, a policy can make it articulate that cyberbullying is not adequate, regardless of where the incident begins. Cyberbullying too may be addressed in a more extensive bullying policy that defines or describes cyberbullying; provides a reporting machinery for students, parents, and kinesthesia; describes a process for investigation and remedial or disciplinary action; and prohibits retaliation confronting an accuser. Student codes of behave also should state that violations of the school'south behavioral expectations tin occur electronically or via social media (whether generated during school hours and/or on school belongings).

While robust policies and procedures are a disquisitional enforcement tool for schools, educating students, faculty, and parents about the proper utilise of social media is disquisitional. Schools should teach students in a proactive, age-advisable way virtually the school'southward policies, the laws, and the nuances and implications of the effects of what they post. Schools should provide ongoing, mission-aligned grooming about how to use social media as well equally how to place the dangers. (For more on social media education, read "The Future of Social Media," a Summer 2018 Independent School magazine commodity.)

Often, it's difficult to make up one's mind who may exist the author or creator of offensive comments or images, and who may have been involved in sending them to other students at the schoolhouse or elsewhere. It's important to accept procedures and resources in identify for investigations before a crisis arises, including a concatenation of command for social media-related situations with reporting to a division or department caput or principal and ultimately the head of school. Schools should also seek guidance from experts at the schoolhouse (psychologists, guidance counselors, IT, and others) equally well as exterior resources (investigation firms, forensic computer consultants, local police departments, school counsel, and others).

On Discipline

Because social media use—and abuse—is rapidly evolving, school officials need to create policies that give them sufficient discretion to address social media violations and consequences as they see appropriate based on their expertise. Disciplinary consequences for social media violations, like other consequences, may range from warnings, reflections, educational training, detentions, suspensions, and expulsions. It will vary by school, simply schools should prepare a policy that ensures consistency and nondiscriminatory action, which is essential in all discipline.

In our experience, schools bailiwick students based on the disruption acquired in the customs—intent is non the issue. Intent may be considered a factor in determining consequences, withal. Many social media-related bug with children reverberate immaturity, not malice, only when made public within the community, the reaction tin be harsh. Many parents want those involved to exist expelled. For many independent schools, however, expulsion is not necessarily the go-to response. This tension ofttimes results in criticism of the school as the parents of the disciplined student want a more than lenient consequence, and other parents may believe the consequences should be stronger.

Social media disputes oft spread like wildfires—everyone has an stance, and the school is often placed in the centre. Schools will inevitably be confronted with controversial and difficult social media bug. Schools must be proactive and exist prepared to deal with the wide variety of bug that will ultimately ascend.

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