ACLU, Teachers Challenging Kanawha Social Media Proposal

The local branches of the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Federation of Teachers are opposing the Kanawha County school board’s proposed social media policy over its rules on monitoring communications.

Jeff Martin, interim executive director of the ACLU of West Virginia, says parts of the policy seem to indicate the school system would claim the right to review information on personal devices brought onto school property, even if those devices aren’t logged into the district’s network.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the social media policy is posted online for public comment until Aug. 29.

District General Counsel Jim Withrow says the policy would maintain limits on when phones could be searched and what could be searched on them.

The social media policy covers text messages and emails, in addition to sites like Facebook and Twitter.