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Clover School District staff propose policy KDC to define official websites and social media moderation
Summary
Staff presented proposed policy KDC to distinguish official district and school web/social accounts from unaffiliated pages, set criteria for removing offensive comments, establish a review-and-appeal pathway to the superintendent and require accessibility of official sites; board members asked for clarity on decision authority, monitoring and guidance for club/booster pages.
District communications staff presented Policy KDC, which would identify the districts official website and social media accounts, spell out criteria for removing posts that meet specified offensive or prohibited categories, and establish a review and appeal process for commenters.
The policy, as described, distinguishes official district and school-run accounts from pages that use a schools name but are run by outside groups. Communications staff said administrators and the public information officer (identified in the transcript as "Miss Not") typically field questionable comments and that cabinet would review possible removals. The superintendent would make the final decision under the proposed policy and the transcript says commenters could appeal to the district with a three-day review window; if an appeal succeeds staff would restore the comment.
Board members asked whether a single staff member should be empowered to remove comments immediately or whether a two-person review would better protect staff from undue criticism. Staff replied that comments would not be removed unless they meet one of the enumerated criteria in the policy and that cabinet generally reviews items, but ultimately the superintendent would make the final call and the board could request review of that decision.
Staff clarified that official accounts include the district website, school websites, and school social media pages (including athletic/team pages managed by school staff). Pages run by parent organizations such as PTOs and booster clubs are not official and would be responsible for their own content. The district described maintaining a linked list of official accounts and said its mass-communication system can send posts to all official pages simultaneously when broad distribution is warranted.
Board members asked whether the policy should be accompanied by a rule or guidance document to address practical questions (for example, a protocol to create a new official page and expected behavior for sponsor staff). Staff agreed a companion rule could provide that additional detail. The policy was presented for discussion; no formal adoption vote occurred during the work session.
