Social Media Lounge Presentation at NAESP 2014 on Social Media Boundaries and Guidelines-What Not to Do on Social Media. Note: This presentation is not intended to constitute legal advice or offer legal opinions.

1. BOUNDARIES & GUIDELINES
Managing Risks and What not to do on social media!
Eric Bernstein, J.D., Ed.D.
@BernsteinUSC
eric.bernstein@usc.edu

2. SOCIAL MEDIA PARADIGMS
Tchr
Personal
Use
Student
Personal
Use
Tchr
Professional
Use
Student
School
Use
Policies &
Training

3. BIGGEST RISK-EXPOSURES FOR
SCHOOLS AND DISTRICTS OF
SOCIAL MEDIA USE
• Cyberbullying
• Sexting
• Inappropriate Behavior
• Cyberbaiting
• Privacy Violations/Data Security Breaches
(Munich Reinsurance America, Inc., 2013)

4. OTHER SOCIAL-MEDIA USE RISKS
• Cheating
• Disruptive Behavior
• Misinformation
(Consortium for School Networking, 2011)

5. QUESTIONS TO ASK TO MANAGE
EXPOSURE
• Is there a social media policy in place for staff and students that specifically
addresses behavioral expectations, management procedures, and
consequences of non-compliance?
• Are all of the social media technologies used in the school district outlined in
the social media policy?
• Is the policy reviewed and updated periodically to keep pace with ongoing
and expected advances in technology?
• Does the policy clearly state that personal devices may be confiscated and
not returned should they contain evidence in the event a crime is
committed? (Whether or not you have BYOD practices in place)
(Munich Reinsurance America, Inc., 2013)

6. QUESTIONS TO ASK TO MANAGE
EXPOSURE
• Are teachers, staff and students routinely trained in the proper usage of
social media sites? Is this training documented?
• Is there effective monitoring in place to detect instances of technology
misuse on school networks?
• Does the school have a clear, established reporting process relating to
problematic interactions with students?
• Are procedures in place for investigating and managing instances of social
media misuse?
• Are responsible technology use messages incorporated in all field trip and
overnight trip permission slips?
(Munich Reinsurance America, Inc., 2013)

7. WHAT NOT TO DO ON SOCIAL
MEDIA - INDIVIDUALLY
• Post illegal activities
• Post objectionable content
• Share personal information
• Discuss student or teacher performance
• Reveal confidential information
• Be careful about real-time location check-ins
• Lie
• Rely on privacy settings 100%
• Post emotionally
(Buck, 2012)

8. WHAT NOT TO DO ON SOCIAL
MEDIA - INSTITUTIONALLY
Don’t…
• Share secrets or confidential information
• Identify students or personally identifiable information without explicit parental consent (even with
consent, protect identities)
• Violate copyright and trademark laws
• Engage in political activity
• Share log-in information (especially with students)
• Discuss student or teacher performance, even broadly
• Use sarcasm
• Replace traditional modes of communication
• Encourage social media use without appropriate policies and training in place and regular review
of those policies and trainings
NOTE: Use extreme caution with controversy and crisis communication
(UB School of Management, 2014)

9. CONTACT INFORMATION
Eric Bernstein, J.D., Ed.D.
Associate Director, PELS Program, Penn GSE
Assistant Professor, University of Southern California
Twitter: @BernsteinUSC
Voxer: eberns546
Email: eric.bernstein@usc.edu
Office: 213.438.9516
Cell: 860.794.2509
Website: www.gse.upenn.edu/pels