Schools

Toms River Regional May Ban Employee Facebook Usage During School Hours

Teachers: social media could be prohibited during school day; proposed policy will be reviewed

Need to update your Facebook status? Upload a photo? Send a tweet?

Employees of the Toms River Regional school district may soon be banned from doing so during the school day.

The regional board of education on Tuesday passed, on first reading, a policy that will bar teachers from using social media sites during school hours and limit their activities on services such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram even when they're not in the classroom.

School districts across the state are developing social media policies to come into compliance with a state directive, officials have said. At Toms River Regional, the district "respects the right of staff members to use social networking sites" but also holds its employees to a "higher standard than the general public" when it comes to online activities, the policy said.

The policy, which would need a second vote of approval from the board before going into affect, bars employees from making defamatory statements about the district, disclosing confidential information and posting "sexually graphic" images or images that "promote violence."

The policy also prohibits employees from posting their job title or referencing their district e-mail address or other connections on with the district unless the use is of an official nature.

Staff members who violate the proposed policy would be subject to disciplinary action depending on the severity of the infraction, the policy says.

The proposal found a dissenter in resident Dennis Galante, who spoke out against it before Tuesday night's vote.

"The language is very bad," he told board members. "I would think this is almost a violation of freedom of speech. You're putting a fear factor in for staff or personnel."

Board President Ben Giovine said the policy will be reviewed by the board's attorney before it is voted on for final passage. Several board members acknowledged that they voted in favor of introducing the policy keeping in mind that it could be tweaked before it appears again on a meeting agenda.


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