Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Schoolboard Social Media topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Orange County Schools committee asks for clearer language on draft social-media rule for board members
Summary
A policy committee debated recommended NCSBA edits to a draft board-member social-media policy, questioned a line saying board members 'should not utilize' school names or logos on personal accounts, and asked staff to return with clarified wording.
Speaker 3, a staff member, told the committee the North Carolina School Boards Association recommended updating the board-member technology policy and "we have to change Twitter to X." The most contested language—highlighted in the redline—would say board members "should not utilize school system or individual school names, logos, trademarks" on personal social media. Speaker 1 pressed for clarity, asking whether that wording would bar typical positive posts such as "we went to the choral concert at Orange High School," and said the phrasing "gave me a shock of, oh my gosh."
The committee debated intent and scope: Speaker 4 said the likely aim was to prevent board members from using logos and trademarks as part of an official online persona or profile photo, which could create the appearance of being an official communications channel. Speaker 5 and Speaker 2 asked whether the provision was required or merely recommended by NCSBA; staff (Speaker 3) confirmed the language was recommended, not mandated. Several members suggested a narrower sentence—e.g., prohibiting use that "creates the appearance of official district communications"—rather than a blanket prohibition on mentioning schools.
After extended discussion about profile pictures versus posts, endorsements versus personal posts, and how the provision interacts with existing rules prohibiting use of official channels for personal messaging, the committee agreed to ask staff to bring revised wording back for review. The committee did not adopt the language in this meeting and instead moved policy 2127 back for clarification.
The committee also recorded several other stylistic edits recommended by NCSBA (including changing references to "Twitter" to "X"), but the board members emphasized they did not want to prohibit ordinary, positive posts about school events. The committee directed staff to prepare clearer alternative language and return with a redline for the next meeting.
