Transcript Cyber Ethics

Cyber Ethics:
From Policy to Practice
December 3, 2011
AASA
Running the Store 2011
Austin, Texas
Presented By:
Gretchen M. Shipley
Phone: (760) 304-6015
[email protected]
What would you do?
• After school students go to a restaurant.
• One student films others making derogatory
statements about a 13-year-old, calling her a
“slut” and “ugly.”
• Student who filmed posts it to YouTube from a
home computer.
• Next day, victim & parent bring video to the
school’s attention.
• What would you do in response to the video?
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Objective
• Review what steps a school
district can take to promote
CYBER-CITIZENSHIP
in the school
community.
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Evolution and Integration
of Technology
in the School Community
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What we’ve learned:
One voice can impact your community.
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Impact
• Because one voice can wield so much
power, it is critical that your community
(students, teachers, staff, administrators,
school board, parents, community
members) understand the importance of:
CYBER-ETHICS
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Balance
• At the same time, school districts must
understand the limitations of their ability to
police students, teachers, and others in
cyber-space.
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Challenge
• Law has not caught up with
technology.
• School districts must operate
according to statutes and case law
that do not contemplate modern
technology.
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Traditional Framework
• School district responsible for student conduct during
school hours.
• “A pupil may not be suspended or expelled . . . unless
that act is related to a school activity.”
• Related to a school activity includes, but is not limited to:
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–
–
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While on school grounds
While going or coming from school
During lunch period on or off campus.
During, while going to or from, a school-sponsored activity
(CA Ed. Code § 48900.)
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Traditional Framework
• The traditional framework for
school district jurisdiction for
student discipline is based on
geography.
• Based on this traditional
framework, we will apply modern
day (and modern technology)
misconduct scenarios and provide
guidance on school district ability
and responsibility to discipline
such conduct.
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Cyber-Ethics Webinar Overview
• We will look at the promotion of student
and employee cyber-ethics in their usage
of:
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School-Issued Technology
Personal Technology Off Campus
Personal Technology as Instructional Tool
Personal Technology On Campus
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School-Issued Technology
• What is “school-issued technology”?
Examples:
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Laptops
E-mail Accounts
I-Pads
On-Line Access
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School-Issued Technology
• Unethical use of school-issued technology
includes any conduct that violates a school
policy, which may include:
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Access to impermissible websites
Hacking
Stolen passwords
Bullying
Sexual harassment
Threats
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School-Issued Technology
• What is a school districts authority to
search school-issued technology:
– For students?
– For staff?
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School-Issued Technology
• What if a teacher is on
their prep. period,
lunch break, or returns
to the classroom in the
evening to use a
school-issued laptop?
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School-Issued Technology
• When could a teacher be disciplined for
cyber-misconduct on school-issued
technology?
– When the misconduct is immoral,
unprofessional, a persistent violation of
school policy, or any of the additional
grounds for discipline.
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Promoting Cyber-Citizenship on
School-Issued Technology
• Thorough policies on acceptable use of school
issued technology
– Separate policies for students and teachers
– Expressly state no privacy interest
– Must they be signed?
• Educate students and staff on District
acceptable use standards and serious
consequences for violation.
– No privacy interest / forensic IT investigation
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School-Issued Technology
• Recap on School-Issued Technology:
– A school district’s right to control student
and employee conduct is broad.
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Cyber-Ethics in Cyber-Space
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Cyber-Ethics in Cyber-Space
• Under the traditional discipline framework, it is
more difficult for a school district to promote
ethical conduct in cyber-space.
• When are social networking, YouTube and
blogging considered “related to a school
activity”?
• When does social networking, YouTube and
blogging demonstrate “immoral conduct” or
“evident unfitness to teach”?
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Student Right to Free Speech
• Tinker v. Des Moines
– School district may restrict speech if it is
reasonably foreseeable that there will be a
substantial disruption to the orderly operation of
the school.
• J.S. v. Blue Mountain SD & Layshock v.
Hermitage SD
• T.V. v. Smith-Green Commty. School Corp.
• J.C. v. Beverly Hills USD
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What Constitutes a Substantial
Disruption?
Courts found student discipline to be justified when:
• A school district could reasonably foresee that
violent or threatening speech would cause a
substantial disruption
• Administrators missed school activities in order
to respond to a deluge of phone calls and parent
complaints (but substantial disruption had to me
more than administrators being pulled away from
ordinary tasks)
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What Constitutes a Substantial
Disruption? (cont.)
•Substantial disruption requires more than:
– Mere gossip;
– Groups of students talking about an incident
two or three times in class;
– “Divisiveness” among teammates; or
– A few students missing portions of one or two
classes to participate in school investigation
of online speech.
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What is Bullying/Cyberbullying?
• Cyberbullying versus Free Speech =
Safety First
• Site administrators inundated with claims
of bullying
• Response may be difference if on campus
versus cyberbullying
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Example of Legal Bullying /
Cyberbullying Definition:
• Any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or
conduct, including communications made in writing
or by means of an electronic act, that has the effect
of or can reasonably be predicted to have the effect
of:
– placing a reasonable pupil in fear of harm to his or her person or
property
– causing a reasonable pupil to experience a substantially
detrimental effect on his or her physical or mental health
– causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial
interference with his or her academic performance
– causing a reasonable pupil to experience substantial
interference with his or her ability to participate in or benefit from
the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school
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Cyberbullying Different than
Traditional Bullying
•
•
•
•
•
•
Indirect, Usually Off-Campus
Affects Broader Audience
No Physical Presence
Harder to Pinpoint Victims
Harder to Prevent
ANONYMOUS
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Training Considerations
orientation, gender identity,
• Designate a point person
and transgender issues and
to train staff regarding
raise awareness throughout
digital citizenship,
the school community
tolerance, and bullying
• Educate community on how
• Designate a point person
to identify, respond to, and
to conduct bullying
prevent bullying; educate
investigations
parents on the limitations
placed on school district, to
• Bullying prevention training
prevent bullying off campus,
should include discussion
and the need for parent and
regarding sexual
community involvement
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Bullying Prevention Tips
• Embed a campaign to promote citizenship
throughout the school community in backto-school and school safety materials.
• Evaluate and update all applicable school
policies to include responsible use of new
technology.
• Implement a mechanism for the school
community to anonymously report bullying.
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Bullying Prevention Tips cont.
• Parent education
and involvement
• Improved supervision
• Consistent consequences
and social/emotional interventions
• Train all school staff on how to identify,
prevent and respond
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Bullying Prevention Tips cont.
• Establish District-wide or school-wide
expectations
• Implement consistent and escalating
consequences
• Create individualized intervention plans
• Respond immediately to reports of bullying
•
(Building a Caring School, Celeste Campbell, Ed.D)
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Employee Cyber-Ethics:
What would you do?
• Receive anonymous call from a parent
directing you to a Craigslist ad.
• Ad is a photo of a middle school teacher,
nude images of his body and graphic,
vulgar text soliciting sex.
• His name and employment information
are not included in the ad.
• Site is restricted to people under 18.
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CPC v. SDUSD (Lampedusa)
• Teacher as role model
• Cyber conduct caused principal to lose
confidence in teacher’s “fitness to teach”
• Slippery slope: Could a Match.com ad
cause a principal to lose confidence in a
teacher?
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Employee Conduct / Misconduct?
• Blogging about
working conditions?
• Organizing a strike?
• Complaining about
students, parents,
board members???
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Personal Technology Off Campus
• Bottom line for student / employee conduct on
their own technology on their own time:
– School district has little jurisdiction to discipline
students unless it can be shown that the conduct is
reasonably foreseeable to cause a substantial
disruption to school operations.
– For employees, conduct may also be grounds for
discipline if the conduct still falls within the
enumerated grounds, despite being off-campus, just
be cautious of collective bargaining implications.
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Personal Technology as an
Instructional Tool
From the Classroom Wall
to the Facebook Wall:
Inviting the Outside In
Small group assignments on Facebook
Posting student made videos on YouTube
Campus or District Facebook Page
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Law Has Not Caught Up
with Technology
• Inviting the Cyber-World into the classroom is rife
with legal problems.
• Legal perspective: Not trying to stand in the way
of education innovation, but trying to assist
school districts in implementing innovative
technology responsibly.
• Attorneys role is to anticipate potential legal
pitfalls and provide tools (i.e. policy and
instruction) on how to prevent those pitfalls.
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Personal Technology as
Instructional Tool - Hypo #1
• Under CIPA, a school district must monitor
and filter school district internet use.
– How would the District monitor Facebook if it
is required as an instructional tool?
– What if the District saw misconduct
while monitoring?
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Personal Technology as
Instructional Tool - Hypo #2
• Students create a classroom
project on video and
post it on YouTube.
– Do School District
photograph / video
waivers include this
scenario?
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Personal Technology as
Instructional Tool - Hypo #3
• The campus Facebook page becomes a
forum for student, teacher or parent
complaints about the District.
– How much authority does the school district
have to remove posts?
– What if an administrator is tagged in a
vacation photo in a bathing suit by a family
member, can all Facebook “friends” on
campus page view it?
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Personal Technology as
Instructional Tool
• To the extent a school district is
going to utilize outside technology
as an instructional tool, school
policies should be put in place to
promote cyber-citizenship in social
networking, blogging, YouTube, etc.
• It has not yet been tested in the law how
enforceable such policies are.
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Teachers and Students as
“Friends”
• By the creation of a virtual
“social network” through
technology that is no
longer tied to the school
site, there has been an
explosion of inappropriate
teacher-student conduct
and relationships.
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Teachers and Students as
“Friends” - Hypo #1
• Teacher has a weekend job at Hooters wearing
skimpy clothes.
• Hooters photos posted to her Facebook wall.
• Teacher is friends with 6th grade students.
– Is this immoral or unprofessional conduct?
– Can a school site prohibit a teacher and student
from being “friends” on social networking sites?
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Teachers and Students as
“Friends” - Hypo #2
• Teacher and Student are Facebook
friends.
• A photo is posted to Student’s wall of
the Student smoking marijuana.
– Does this trigger the teacher’s duty to
report abuse and neglect to the police
or CPS as a mandatory reporter?
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Promoting Cyber-Ethics in
Social Networking
• Encourage teachers not to friend students.
• If social networking is interwoven into the
educational process, encourage teachers to
exercise good judgment in “socializing” with
students.
– For example, teachers may want to create a a
separate professional and personal Facebook page.
• Train teachers on the danger of students
viewing inappropriate content on their wall and
the impact mandatory reporting when they view
misconduct on student walls.
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Teachers and Students as
“Friends”
• An Inappropriate / sexual relationship
between a teacher and student is grounds for
dismissal as immoral conduct (even if the
student is 18).
• Knowledge of or reasonable suspicion of a
teacher and a student having an
inappropriate / sexual relationship will likely
trigger a teacher’s mandatory reporting duty.
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Personal Technology On
Campus
• It’s a bird, it’s a plane,
it’s a. . .
Personal Electronic Device!
• Almost every person now
carries a phone, a camera,
a video camera, a twitter
account, and Facebook
access . . . in their pocket!
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Personal Technology On
Campus
• While on campus, a school district can
promote cyber-ethics on personal electronic
devices through a “cell phone” policy.
• Districts vary on acceptable times of use and
rules regarding confiscation.
• Cell phone policy should be updated to
include all functions of a personal technology
device and may be blended with photograph
and video policy.
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Personal Technology On
Campus
• Cell phone policies should be cautious
about student search and seizure
procedures.
• Klump v. Nazarath: Parents sued school
for violation of privacy rights.
• Reasonable suspicion = “justified at
inception” and “reasonable in scope.”
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Personal Technology On
Campus
• Does your District issue
cell phones to staff?
• Do teachers have a privacy
interest in a school district
issued phone?
• City of Ontario v. Quon
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Personal Technology On
Campus
• Emergency exceptions
in cell phone policies
(pros and cons)
• Emergency
Communications Plan
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Personal Technology On
Campus
• Last but not least . . . Sexting!?
– Seattle cheerleader case: Parents
sued school district for inconsistent
discipline.
– Slumber party tweens:
Prosecuted for child
pornography.
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Personal Technology On
Campus
• Sexual images of a minor trigger
mandatory reporting.
• Criminal prosecution may include child
pornography. Consequences include
registered sex offender status.
• Anticipate creation of a “Romeo and Juliet
exception” by the state legislature.
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Personal Technology On
Campus
• If you discover a “sexting” photo on
campus:
– What not to do: pass it on
to an administrator.
– What to do: seal up the image,
tell an administrator, and follow
mandatory reporting protocol.
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Personal Technology / Sexting
What Would You Do?
• A 13 year-old student “sexts” a topless
photo to a boyfriend.
• She is being harassed and ridiculed by
other students because of the texted
image.
• A teacher reports seeing shallow cuts on
the student’s thigh.
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Witsell Case Example
• In Witsell, a school social worker provided
mental health counseling and had the
student sign a no-harm contract.
• The social worker did not notify site
administrators or student’s parents of the
counseling or cuts.
• The following day, the 13 year-old hung
herself and died.
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Conclusion: Promoting Cyber-Ethics
• To promote cyber-ethics:
– Have clear policies in place.
– Update policies as technology evolves.
– Train students and staff on acceptable use
and cyber-citizenship.
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Thank you!!
313369
Information in this presentation, including but not limited to PowerPoint handouts and the presenters' comments, is summary only and not legal advice.
We advise you to consult with legal counsel to determine how this information may apply to your specific facts and circumstances.
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