Social Networking Nightmares

Cyberspeak No Evil

By Mike Simpson
Story suggested by Tami Zeitler (Student member 2009), Central Washington University
Want to get fired from your first teaching job? Dont read this article. Seriously. Just click on to
something else. Theres nothing to see here. Move along....

The photo that got Stacey Snyder into trouble, because of its caption: Drunken pirate.
First, lets debunk the free speech myth: Many teachers believe they have the absolute First
Amendment right to post anything they want on social networking sites, including party pix and
diatribes about the boss. After all, theyre on their own time and using their own resources.
Sadly, the courts say otherwise.
Thanks to Facebook and MySpace, what used to be private is now very public. And thats the
problem, particularly for young teachers: Some seem oblivious to the devastating consequences
of posting really stupid things in cyberspace.
The exploding popularity of these sites has engendered a prurient interest in teachers private
lives by both school administrators and the media. Newspapers across the country have begun
trolling social networking sites for embarrassing and titillating postings by local teachers. And
theres a treasure trove of material to be mined:

The Charlotte Observer reported that an afterschool staffer from Charlotte was fired for
his Facebook comment that he likes chillin wit my niggas and a suggestive
exchange with a female friend. Two probationary teachers faced termination for their
Facebook musings that Im feeling pissed because I hate my students, and Im
teaching in the most ghetto school in Charlotte.
The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch ran an expose entitled, Teachers Saucy Web Profiles
Risk Jobs. One 25-year-old female bragged on her MySpace site about being sexy and
an aggressive freak in bed. Another confessed that she recently got drunk, took drugs,
went skinny-dipping, and got married.
The Washington Post published a front page investigative piece entitled When Young
Teachers Go Wild on the Web, quoting one DC teachers Facebook page: Teaching in
the DC Public SchoolsLesson #1: Dont smoke crack while pregnant. A special ed
teacher wrote on her page to a student, Youre a retard, but I love you, and posted a
photo of herself sleeping with a bottle of tequila.
A San Antonio newspaper reported that college student Mahka posted pictures of
herself in various stages of drunkenness with the catchy caption, Can U say wasted?
She also wrote: Drinking and partying is my life. Im gonna be a high school English
teacher one day.

Really? You think so?

First Amendment 101
Until they acquire tenure, most beginning teachers can be nonrenewed for no reason at all.
Theyre not entitled to know why or to have a due process hearing. The only caveat is that they
cant be let go for a discriminatory reason or in retaliation for free speech activities.
Without going into the gory details, teacher free speech rights are fairly limited: their speech is
protected only if they speak out as citizens on matters of public concern and their speech
doesnt disrupt the school.
In the seminal Pickering v. Board of Education case, the Supreme Court held that its not a First
Amendment violation to dismiss probationary teachers for what they say or write, if their speech
involves merely personal things (i.e. doesnt address broader social/political issues of the day), or
if the speech might disturb the workplace.
Tenured teachers, by contrast, have far greater job security than probationary teachers: they cant
be fired except for just cause, and they dont need to rely on the First Amendment for
protection.
Pickering in Cyberspace
To date, there have been only three court cases involving teachers who claimed that their First
Amendment rights were violated by being punished because of their postings on social
networking sites. The teachers lost every case.

Connecticut teacher Jeffrey Spanierman was fired because of two cyber conversations
with students on his MySpace page. In one posting, he teased a student about his
girlfriend, and the student responded, dont be jealous cause you cant get any lol:)
Spanierman replied: What makes you think I want any? I'm not jealous. I just like to
have fun and goof on you guys. If you don't like it. Kiss my brass! LMAO. He also
jokingly threatened another student with lifelong detention for calling him sir. Pretty
mild stuff, really.
But a federal court ruled that Spaniermans termination didnt violate the First
Amendment because his speech was likely to disrupt school activities. The court
faulted the teacher for failing to maintain a professional, respectful association with
students and for communicating with students as if he were their peer, not their
teacher. Such conduct, could very well disrupt the learning atmosphere of a school,
the court said.

Tara Richardson was a mentor for beginning teachers who sued the Central Kitsap
(Washington) School District claiming that she was demoted because of comments she
posted on a personal blog. She described one administrator as a smug know-it-all
creep who has a reputation of crapping on secretaries.
Last June, a federal appeals court rejected her First Amendment argument, finding that
her nasty, personal comments interfered with her job because they fatally undermined
her ability to enter into confidential and trusting mentor relationships with beginning
teachers.

And then theres the sad tale of Pennsylvania college senior Stacey Snyder who was
dismissed from her student teaching position because of unprofessional postings on her
MySpace site, which she urged her students to visit. Her site included comments
criticizing her supervisor and a photograph of her wearing a pirate hat and drinking from
a plastic cup with the caption drunken pirate.

Because she did not complete her student-teaching practicum, Snyder was forced to graduate
with a degree in English instead of Education. The lack of student-teaching experience also
prevented her from applying for a Pennsylvania teaching certificate.
Snyder sued, but a federal court found no First Amendment violation. Applying the Pickering
case, the court ruled that her MySpace postings dealt only with purely personal matters, not
issues of public concern.
The lesson from the Snyder case is this: Unprofessional and inappropriate Internet postings by
college students can be used to prevent them from entering the teaching profession. Seriously.
Make no mistake: Administrators are catching on and checking up. The Washington Post
reported about a Missouri superintendent who, during interviews, insists that job applicants show
him their Facebook or MySpace page.

So, how would you fare in that situation? If youre not sure, show your Facebook page to your
mom. If shes got any concerns or problems, then so do you.
Michael D. Simpson
NEA Office of General Counsel
Michael Simpson is the Assistant General Counsel of the NEA and specializes in the First
Amendment to the Constitution.