Policy committee debates social-media limits in professional adult‑student boundaries policy

The East Stroudsburg Area School District Policy Committee on April 28 reviewed revisions to Policy 824, "Maintaining Professional Adult‑Student Boundaries," including language on electronic communications and a proposed insertion clarifying that certain physical contact may be "legitimately administered by an athletic trainer, coach, or health care provider." The committee discussed how the policy would treat educators' personal social‑media accounts versus district‑sponsored accounts and debated a sentence in the draft that states, "Electronic communication with students shall be for legitimate educational reasons only."

Committee members said they supported a clear boundary between personal and professional communications but worried that concise wording could unintentionally bar routine, noninstructional messages (for example, a student congratulating a teacher on a newborn). One member framed the concern: if a teacher receives a private congratulatory message, is that ‘‘educational’’ under the draft? Another said the intent is not to stop building positive rapport but to prevent situations that have previously created litigation or perceived bias.

Staff and counsel reviewed case examples the committee said show how private social‑media interactions have produced complaints or litigation even when educators did not act with malice. The committee discussed distinctions among: (1) district accounts managed explicitly on behalf of a school or program (which members said should be treated as district communications); (2) personal accounts teachers use for private life; and (3) hybrid pages created by an individual that parents, students or community members may follow. Several members asked whether the district could be an administrator on pages that represent school activities so content can be monitored, and noted the practical staffing needed to do so.

The committee also discussed adding the qualifier "legitimately administered by an athletic trainer" to language that limits accepting or giving massages except in injury care. One member said the phrase was not a PSBA suggestion but the committee supported adding the qualifier to make the exception explicit.

Members agreed the policy aims to protect students and to keep educators' private lives separate from school responsibilities; they also emphasized the district should avoid overly broad prohibitions that could chill ordinary, harmless interactions. The committee set the draft for public posting as part of a larger batch of policies to be published for review (see separate item on policy postings).

The draft language under discussion and the committee's questions on exceptions and monitoring will be available in the public review packet the district posts for April, with a subsequent board action scheduled in May.