UPDATE: Missouri Governor Repeals Portion of Law Prohibiting Private Interactions Between Teachers and Students on the Internet

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed a bill that repeals part of the Amy Hestir Student Protect Act, which prohibited private internet interactions between teachers and students. As you will recall, the law was determined to likely be unconstitutional and a judge issued an injunction temporarily preventing the law from taking effect. See 8/31 blog post, "UPDATE: Missouri Law Prohibits Private Interactions Between Teachers and Students on the Internet, But State Court Finds the Law Likely Violates Right to Freedom of Speech."

Although schools have an interest in preventing inappropriate contact between teachers and students, the First Amendment Rights of those teachers and students are also an important issue to weigh when making legal and policy decisions whether and how to regulate teacher and student interactions.

For additional background, see 8/9 blog post, "Missouri Law Prohibits Private Interactions Between Teachers and Students on the Internet."

Meghan Covert Russell