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Board reviews draft Internet/social‑media policy prompted by state law; document to be tabled for 30 days
Summary
The board reviewed a draft Internet acceptable‑use policy and a companion exhibit addressing social media required by state House Bill 351; the draft will be tabled for the required 30‑day review period and staff will return with a corrected reference and proposed adoption steps.
Harris County — The Harris County Board of Education reviewed a draft revision to the district Internet Acceptable Use policy and an accompanying exhibit that implements requirements of House Bill 351 governing student access to social media on district devices.
Superintendent Dr. Finney told the board that the policy revision is "in response to House Bill 351, which requires that we update our Internet access acceptable use policy." He summarized the bill’s aims as protecting students from certain social‑media uses while requiring districts to specify responses and investigation processes when incidents occur.
The draft exhibit defines social media broadly to include traditional social platforms and tools for collaborative or cloud‑based interaction and states that students are not permitted to access social media on district devices except when specifically directed by a teacher or school official for an instructional purpose. Dr. Finney and staff noted that widely used instructional resources such as YouTube may be treated as social media under the law and the exhibit outlines processes for teachers and administrators to follow when social media is used in instruction.
Board members flagged a typographical citation error in the memorandum (the presenter acknowledged House Bill "351" should be used rather than the initial transcription). Staff said the policy packet will be tabled for the required 30‑day review and returned for board action; the district’s technology team will work on software‑level blocks and filters to prevent unauthorized social‑media access on Chromebooks and other district devices.
No final adoption or vote on the policy was recorded in the meeting transcript; board members asked staff to check language, confirm citation numbers and coordinate technical safeguards.
The district stated that the policy is intended to supplement—not replace—existing acceptable‑use policies.
