GCSB - USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA BY SCHOOL EMPLOYEES

"Social herein,media" includes technology and/or Internet-based tool(s) for communicating or sharing information, opinions and ideas with others, including but not limited to websites, blogs, forums, social networking platforms, image sharing applications and news sites.

1. Approval Procedure

A school employee who desires to use social media for school-related purposes shall submit a proposal and request for approval to their building administrator or supervisor.  Proposals for the termschool-related "Computer(s)"use refersof social media should include an articulated educational purpose and be appropriate to anythe desktop,students' laptop,ages, level(s) of understanding, and range(s) of knowledge.  Use of social media with students is limited to grades seven and higher.  Any student under 13 needs parent/guardian permission to access approved social media.

The building administrator or othersupervisor mobilemay computingrequest device,additional includinginformation cellularprior phone,to ownedmaking a decision on a proposal.  The building administrator or issuedsupervisor may also consult with the Superintendent or others as appropriate in evaluating the request.  

The building administrator or supervisor may take one of the following actions:

1. Approval;
2. Approval with required modifications;
3. Denial.  

The decision of the building administrator or supervisor shall be in writing and the decision is final. The building administrator or supervisor may withdraw approval for the use of social media at any time for good reason, with appropriate notice to the employee. 

Any later modifications to a proposal that has already been approved must be submitted to the building administrator or supervisor and approved prior to implementation.  

Approved proposals for the school-related use of social media must be resubmitted annually by September 30th for review.  If an employee discontinues their use of approved social media, the building administrator or supervisor must be notified.

2. Terms of Use

The school-related use of social media approved in accordance with this policy is subject to the following terms and conditions:

1. Content on approved social media shall at all times comply with school unit policies, procedures and guidelines as well as with any applicable state and federal laws (including confidentiality laws).

2. The responsible school employee shall monitor any student use of approved social media and shall remove content that violates school unit policies, procedures or guidelines, and/or state or federal laws.  Any inappropriate use of approved social media shall be reported to the building principal/supervisor.  

3. The school unit may monitor any approved social media for compliance with applicable Board policies/procedures, other school rules, and laws.

3. Personal Use of Social Media

Employees must keep their professional social media presence separate from their personal social media. Employees shall not use work time or their work-issued email address/contact information for personal use of social media. 

School employees are prohibited from “friending” students or engaging in any other interactions with students on social media (outside of any school-approved activity).

School employees are expected to exhibit professional decorum on social media and not engage in conduct that violates Board policies, procedures and guidelines; which adversely affects their capacity to serve as a role model for students; or which distracts from or disrupts the educational process or the operations of the schools.    

Violations of this policy may result in the withdrawal of approval to utilize social media for school purposes and/or disciplinary action, depending on the circumstances of each case.

4. School Administrator Use of Social Media

Like School employees and Board members, school administrators (such as the Superintendent, a Principal, the Special Education Director, etc.) shall have no authority to speak on behalf of Cape Elizabeth School Department (CESD)unless specifically designated to anydo employeeso. for Where no such authority exists, school and/oradministrators homeshall use.make Theit term "Privately-Owned Computer(s)" refers to any privately-owned desktop, laptop, or other mobile computing device, including cellular phones. The term "Computer Services" refers to the School Department's network or Internet connections used to access school or Internet-based information.

The CESD provides computers and computer services to support the educational mission of the schools and to enhance the curriculum and learning opportunities for students and school staff. This policy and the accompanying rules apply to the use of the computers and computer services whether in use at school or off school premises. Staff are allowed to use privately­ owned computers at school, providedclear that they comply with this policy and the related rules and policies.

School district computers, network and Internet services are providedspeaking forin purposestheir individual capacity when posting or engaging in other activity on social media related to school programsbusiness and operations,that andtheir performance of employees' job responsibilities. Incidental personal use of school computers is permitted as long as such use: 1) does not interfere with an employee's job responsibilities and performance; 2) does not interfere with system operationsviews or other systemexpressive users;activities are their own, are not intended to represent the views of the Board, and 3) doesare not violateendorsed thisby policyor undertaken on behalf of the Board. This applies to an administrator’s own social media pages, the social media pages of others, and the accompanying rules, or any other Board policy/procedure or school rules. "Incidental personal use" is defined as use by an individual employee for occasional personal communications which do not interfere or conflict with their job responsibilities.

Compliance with the CESD'district’s policiessocial andmedia rules concerning computers and computer services use are mandatory. An employee who violates these policies and rules may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. Such violations of the school district's computer may also result in referral to law enforcement and/or legal action.

CESD computers remain under the control, custody, and supervision of the school district at all times. The school district shall have the right to monitor, review, and have access to all computers and information concerning the use of computer services by staff, whether those computer services have been accessed on or off school grounds. Staff have no expectation of privacy in their use of school computers and/or computer services, whether they are used on or off school property.

The Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee is responsible for implementing this policy and the accompanying rules. Additional administrative procedures or school rules governing the day-to­-day management and operations of the school district's computer services may be implemented by the Superintendent may delegate specific responsibilities to the Technology Coordinator, building principals and others, as the Superintendent deems appropriate.

Employees shall be informed of this policy and the accompanying rules through employee handbooks, the school website, computer start-up page and/or other means selected by the Superintendent.pages.

Cross Reference:  

• GCSA/GCSA-R -– Employee ComputerUse of School-Issued Computers/Devices and the Internet Use Rules 
• GBEBBGBEB -– Staff Conduct with Students
• IJNDBIJNDB/IJNDB-R -– Student ComputerUse of School-Issued Computers/Devices and the Internet Use 
• EGADIJND/IJND-R -– CopyrightSchool ComplianceWebsite and Social Media

Adopted:

• January 10, 2006

Revised:

• February 8,11, 2011
• January 14, 2014
• May 9, 20232025