NY Bans Teacher-Student Interaction on Social Media

Better to be safe?

Teacher-student interaction on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook has been banned by the New York Department of Education.

The NYC DOE said, "If a particular type of behavior is inappropriate in the classroom or a professional workplace then that behavior is also inappropriate on the professional social media site," according to Mashable.

The two parties can converse on professional pages - ones pre-approved by the school - but are not allowed to "friend," "follow" or message one another via their private accounts on YouTube, Google+ or Flickr either, regardless of the reason.

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However, the President of the United Federation of Teachers fears this will make professors, who have "gone above and beyond" in making their methods more interactive and effective, sign offline altogether.

Parents will now be informed, every year, of the academic social media accounts used for classes or after-school programs. And the guidelines will likely be subject to change every 3 months, as the NYC DOE plans to adjust them as the ever-growing industry changes.

Last year, 69 cases of inappropriate behavior between teachers and students investigated by the NYC DOE involved Facebook.

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