What People Are Saying

A lawsuit filed by Ladue School District teacher Christina Thomas over a new law (dubbed the “Facebook” law), which keeps teachers from contacting their students has tongues buzzing all over the world.

The teacher is arguing this legislation aimed to prevent inappropriate communications and sexual misconduct by prohibiting teachers from holding “exclusive communications” on nonwork sites, Daily Mail said. The law, according to the site, wants to stop cases such as the one involving Amy Jackson, a 35-year-old teacher who allegedly arranged sex with a 14-year old boy via Facebook.

Thomas alleges that the Ladue School District where she works has told teachers that they cannot have these “exclusive communications” with their own children on Facebook, and the law is violating her rights under the First and 14th amendments, Malaysian Digest said.

The Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA)will challenge the legislation, saying it violates their constitutional rights, The Huffington Post said.The MSTA said it will seek an injunction to block enforcement of part of the law that takes effect Aug. 28. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, said “critics misunderstand the law,” and that teachers are neither barred from using Facebook nor prohibited from communicating with students as long as such discussions are public. However, Charol Shakeshaft, a professor of educational leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University, said that the bill is “a good way to tackle sexual abuse in schools.” 

“One of the most fascinating aspects of the rise of social media as an integral part of day to day life is the way it affects and is affected by the law," The Inquisitr said in an article. "It seems to be a near daily occurrence that a new legal question arises. If one thing has become apparent, it’s that the law has to allow for the fact services like Facebook are unlike other forms of communication- take the case of what has been dubbed “the Facebook law” in some jurisdictions.”

The St. Louis Beacon reports that the bill’s sponsor, Cunningham, said she has been surprised by the amount of controversy over the bill “given its bipartisan support in the legislature and its passage by unanimous votes in both the House and Senate.” She said she was particularly puzzled by the MSTA suit because the association was one of the many education groups in the state that worked to help write the law. 

"I find it's a real disservice to dues-paying members of MSTA," Cunningham said. "To use their hard-earned teacher funds to sue over legislation that they actually helped craft, endorse and promote. They're suing over their own work."