Extra Password Protection For Employees and College Students Thanks to AB 1844 and SB 1349

Two bills were recently chaptered that provide employees and college students protection from the prying eyes of employers and college admissions. 

Both AB 1844 (employers) and SB 1349 (colleges) prohibit requiring employees or students to (1) disclose their usernames or passwords for accessing personal social media, (2) access their personal social media in the presence of the employer or college’s representative, or (3) divulge any social media information. 

Under both bills, social media is defined “as an electronic service or account, or electronic content, including, but not limited to, videos, still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant and text messages, email, online services or accounts, or Internet Web site profiles or locations.”

AB 1844 does not prohibit an employer from asking an employee to divulge personal social media that is relevant to an investigation of employee misconduct or violation of applicable laws and regulations.

SB 1349 does not affect the rights or obligations of a college to protect against and investigate alleged student misconduct or violation of applicable laws and regulations or to take any adverse actions against a student or prospective student or student group for any lawful reason.

For more information, please see our Legal Alert.

Meghan Covert Russell

Twitter Town Hall 4/11 Hosted by Council for Exceptional Children

On Wednesday, April 11 at noon PST, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Alexa Posny, will host a Twitter Town Hall discussion.  The discussion, which coincides with CEC's Annual Conference and Expo, will focus on "the importance of early learning, great teachers and leaders, high student achievement, and college and career readiness as we strive to improve results and outcomes for all infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities."

To participate, use the hashtag #CECTownHall or follow @usedgov, @arneduncan and @CECMembership.  

For more information, visit the US Department of Education's blog post here.

Meghan Covert Russell

You can also read these blog posts and other education and law-related news on Twitter by following @MeghanCRussell

Missouri Law Prohibits Private Interactions Between Teachers and Students on the Internet

Missouri recently passed the “Amy Hestir Student Protection Act” (the “Act”), which targets sexual misconduct between teachers and students. Among the Act’s many provisions, including imposing liability on a school district who fails to disclose a former employee’s allegations of sexual misconduct to the new employing school district, the Act seeks to curtail online interaction between students and teachers.

The Act specifically prohibits teachers from having a “nonwork-related website that allows exclusive access with a current or former student,” thus prohibiting private interaction on social networking sites such as Facebook (through private messaging and chatting) and Twitter (through direct messaging). However, the Act does not appear to prohibit social networking such as posting on Facebook walls or public group pages, provided the interaction is publicly accessible.

This law is an attempt to address a growing problem of inappropriate contact between students and teachers utilizing technology such as text messaging, emails or social networking. However, commentators have already begun to question the validity of the Missouri law and whether it will withstand review by a court due to constitutional concerns such as free speech and freedom of association.

Although school districts should discourage student and teacher interaction online, California’s free speech laws have not been interpreted in a way that would suggest school districts could prohibit appropriate interaction between students and teachers utilizing technology and social media.

Meghan Covert Russell