Teachers Sue Missouri Over Facebook Ban in Latest Move

The Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA) is suing the state over a new Missouri law that bans students and teachers from communicating through social network sites like the ubiquitous Facebook.

The law is to prevent them from having conversations that cannot be accessed by school administrators and parents. This means they may not be friends on Facebook—something many teachers and students told Patch they disagree with because it's a common method of communication between the two parties these days.

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Missouri Senate Bill 54, also known as the Amy Hestir Student Protection Act, was sponsored by State Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield.

A main thrust of the bill was to make the law more clear about a school district's responsibilities when dealing with teachers accused of sexual misconduct. For years, Cunningham, a former Ladue school board member, has bemoaned a practice she described as "passing the trash," as teachers accused of misconduct would float from one school district to another.

But social media proponents and teachers from to Ladue are now voicing their concerns over fears that the component of the bill which seeks to ban private messages between educators and students is going too far.

“My own children attend this school, and the way the bill is written, I cannot even become their friend on Facebook,"  teacher Jill Proehl said.

"My first duty as a parent is to defend my children in their usage of electronic media. By this bill, I cannot even do that,” Proehl said.

MSTA opposes the section of the bill that teachers feel will inhibit their ability to communicate with students through social media sites such as Facebook and text messaging.

The lawsuit, filed by MSTA Friday afternoon, names Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon and Attorney General Chris Koster as the defendants.

"They're the ones who signed the bill into law," Todd Fuller, MSTA director of communications told Patch. "We want the court to stop this from going forward."

The law is scheduled to take effect Aug. 28. Fuller said after receiving calls from teachers and other school staff members across the state, there is too much confusion about the law and districts are scrambling to get policies in place.

"What we've heard and found as our members are starting to understand the implications and ramifications of the bill, there are far more scenarios and ways it affects teachers than anyone thought before," Fuller said. "Then once we heard from our teachers, we realized that it's a vague section of the bill. It's confusing and frustrating and something needs to be done."

Fuller said the first thing MSTA wants is some type of injunction to stop the bill from moving forward until it's determined by a court if it is constitutional or not.

"When you look at the language itself, that sounds fine, and it is. But what happened is that as the bill went on and when it tried to be more specific and explain what teachers could and couldn't do, it then got more confusing," Fuller said.

Cunningham tells Patch that critics haven't read the bill or are knowingly spreading bad information. She said the bill passed both houses because it was supported and crafted by groups including the MSTA.

However, Fuller hopes to have an injunction by the court by Aug. 28.

"If that doesn't happen, as districts are putting policies in place, we're hoping that there will be some kind of judgement before Jan. 1," Fuller said.

MSTA represents about 44,000 Missouri teachers and school employees. Fuller said he's also learned that the law, although it mentions teachers, affects additional school employees, too.

"And that's another confusing part of the bill. We have bus drivers asking, 'Does this affect me?' and the assumption is, based on that we've heard from legislators, is 'Yeah, it does,' even though it's not clear.

A spokesperson for Nixon declined Friday to comment on the suit.

Gov. Jay Nixon and Attorney General Chris Koster are defendants in the lawsuit. Patch originally reported otherwise. We regret the error. 

*Patch Editors Gregg Palermo and Jim Baer contributed to this report.