JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Duval County School Board is, once again, considering a policy change to limit what employees can do on social media. But, just as we showed you when the district first introduced the proposed change last month, it still does not expressly include rules for school board members.
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“Our students and our community deserve better,” said Katie Hathaway, a mother of two students enrolled in Duval County schools and a member of Public School Defenders of Duval County.
Hathaway first started advocating for social media rules for school board members after board member Tony Ricardo shared three separate posts on his personal Facebook page that got backlash from parents who said they were anti-LGBTQ+.
“I firmly believe there should be a zero-tolerance policy for this,” Hathaway said.
Ricardo didn’t answer our interview requests when we first reached out to him last month. Action News Jax’s Finn Carlin contacted his personal and professional Facebook accounts today and didn’t hear a response.
This is the school board policy DCPS’s policy handbook review committee met to consider today:
“Employees must maintain professionalism and uphold the district’s values on social media, whether for personal or professional use as defined in Board Policy 6.84 regarding fraternization with students. Employees should also avoid posting content that could harm their professional reputation or the district’s reputation. Personal opinions must be clearly stated as such and not
presented as the district’s views. Employees should not engage in private messaging with students on social media platforms. Violation of this policy will result in disciplinary action up to termination of employment.”
What isn’t considered is a section saying school board members also have to follow this rule, which parents like Hathaway hope is changed.
“As the school board is implementing things, being very explicit about what is allowed by teachers, they need to include themselves in the same policy,” said Hathaway.
Action News Jax reached out to DCPS to ask if it is considering either amending the policy to add a section for school board members or considering a separate policy for the school board. We are still awaiting a response.
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