The Missouri Senate unanimously approved revisions to the controversial ‘Facebook law’ which restricted  teachers’ online interaction with students Sept. 14. The bill removed provisions passed in August barring teachers from using websites such as Facebook that give “exclusive access” to students through messages and private groups.
The law “was being met with a lot of criticism from people across the state because of the internet policy so we knew we had to change something with it,” Missouri senator Brad Lager said. “We removed that provision and it was passed with a 33-0 vote.”
A Cole County Circuit Court judge placed the law on hold last month after concerns about free-speech rights. Governor Jay Nixon added the measure to a special legislative session.
“The governor wanted to just repeal the bill but we went a step further and revised part of it,” Lager said, “namely the teacher-student interactions in hopes of the law being met more positively.”
The revisions would require school districts to develop individual policies regarding contact among teachers and students through electronic media. The bill has found support within groups such as the Missouri State Teachers Association, the Missouri School Boards Association and the Missouri National Education Association.
“I think the new legislation was definitely a step up from the older version. We had members from three of the state’s education associations come and testify on behalf of the revised legislation,” Lager said. “That shows a great deal since these were the same groups championing against the law in the beginning stages.”
Social studies teacher Dan Ware thinks the revision is a positive change for teachers and students. He believes there are different ways to protect students while they are online.
Legislators “sort of didn’t look at the positives or benefits that can come from social interactions with students online and using those tools for classroom purposes, which helps to be successful in school. I think there’s a lot of great things that can happen with Facebook,” Ware said. “They really didn’t look at the positives.”
Lager expects the law to pass the House, but not without debate. The House Education Committee approved the bill Sept. 19, signaling a move down to the House floor for review.
“It’ll take some time before a final decision is reached on the bill. That includes going through the house as well as the governor — you can’t really tell what’s going to happen just based on the fact that the senate passed it on,” Lager said. “But I feel it’s a good revision we have here.”