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Board considers PSBA social media language; asks solicitor to review right-to-know and content standards
Summary
Administration recommended adopting PSBA's updated social media policy; board members agreed broadly but flagged one paragraph implying account status matters for right-to-know exposure and asked the solicitor to advise on whether to remove or reword it and whether to restore certain content-removal examples (commercial promotion, incitement).
Administration proposed adopting the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) updated personal-social-media language intended to clarify obligations for district employees, board members and students when content creates a nexus to the district.
Several board members supported most of the PSBA wording but questioned a paragraph that could be read to emphasize the status of an account (professional vs. personal) over the content of a post for right-to-know and discovery purposes. One member cited court cases and the PNN guidance, arguing that a post’s content—not merely the account’s label—determines whether it is subject to public records requests.
Members also reviewed items that were removed from the PSBA version and asked whether the board should explicitly retain prohibitions on promoting or endorsing commercial products and on encouraging illegal activity. The group debated terminology—whether to use "inciting imminent lawless action" or broader phrasing such as "encouraging illegal activity"—and noted overlap among items addressing threats, hate speech and personal attacks. The board directed that the solicitor review those distinctions and return legal guidance on wording and removal criteria.
No final policy vote was taken; the board asked staff to seek counsel from the solicitor on (1) the legal effect of the paragraph in question, (2) whether to restore explicit examples (commercial promotion, spamming), and (3) recommended phrasing to avoid ambiguity for directors and employees.
