APS sets new rules for using social media

Employees warned any post may be seen as coming from district.

A new social media policy provides rules for how Atlanta Public Schools employees and others should act online.

The policy, approved unanimously by the Atlanta Board of Education earlier this month, wa r ns e mployees that “any social media post, even from an employee’s personal, non-district account, may be interpreted as being made on behalf of the district.”

The new rules pertain not just to APS employees but also to those who serve on local school governance teams, groups that include parents and community members which were formed to guide decision-making at the school level.

Also included in the policy are those who serve on cluster advisory teams and the district executive committee.

The policy calls social media a “useful tool” for sharing the district’s work and encourages using it “so long as such activities do not detract from the employee’s effectiveness or other job duties.”

T he new rules state t hat employees are expected “to exercise professionalism and good judgement in any social media activities, district-related as well as non-district related.”

Online posts must comply with student privacy, anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, and “any other applicable laws and regulations.”

“Any communication which is unprofessional or prohibited in any other form is also unprofessional or prohibited on social media,” the policy states. “Any violation of this policy, or of any board policies or procedures as a result of social media activities, may result in corrective action, up to and including termination.”

The new rules do not “empower or expect” principals and managers “to monitor the personal, non-district related social media activity of their employees,” the policy states.

School board member Cynthia Briscoe Brown, the chairwoman of the policy review committee, said the policy was prompted by the recognition of how “effective” Twitter, Facebook, blogs and other social media can be “to support our work in the district and to get out the good news about what’s happening.”

“We wanted to develop a policy which would support and encourage that kind of activity not only by the board and the superintendent but at every level, and in the course of supporting and encouraging that activity we also needed to give some guidelines,” she said.

She said the intent is not to control anyone’s free speech and said that constructive criticism and suggestions for improvements “are always welcome.”

“This is not intended to restrict or deny anyone the right to do that,” she said, though she noted employees have other, more effective ways of bringing up concerns rather than posting on social media.

She said the decision to include those who serve on governance and advisory teams was made because the school district authorizes those groups, while others, such as a parent-teacher association, are separate entities and not bound by the new rules.