Fed instructs teachers to Facebook creep students By Neil Munro The Daily Caller 03/16/2011
Education Department officials are threatening school principals with lawsuits if they fail to monitor and curb students' lunchtime chat and evening Facebook time for expressing ideas and words that are deemed by Washington special-interest groups to be harassment of some students. There has only been muted opposition to this far-reaching policy among the professionals and advocates in the education sector, most of whom are heavily reliant on funding and support from top-level education officials. The normally government-averse tech-sector is also playing along, and on Mar. 11, Facebook declared that it was "thrilled" to work with White House officials to foster government oversight of teens' online activities. The only formal opposition has come from the National School Board Association, which declined to be interviewed by The DC. The agency's threats, which are delivered in a so-called "Dear Colleague" letter," have the support of White House officials, including President Barack Obama, who held a Mar. 10 White House meeting to promote the initiative as a federal "anti-bullying" policy. The letter says federal officials have reinterpreted the civil-rights laws that require school principals to curb physical bullying, as well as racist and sexist speech, that take place within school boundaries. Under the new interpretation, principals and their schools are legally liable if they fail to curb "harassment" of students, even if it takes place outside the school, on Facebook or in private conversation among a few youths. ... http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/16/fed-instructs-teachers-to-facebook-creep-students/ _______________________________________________ Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
