In our April 2011 issue, we discussed strategies for schools to limit their exposure to liability stemming from employees' off-campus interactions with students. School employees' participation in online social networking, such as Facebook and Twitter, presents many of the same perils, but merits its own discussion because of the unique aspects of online interactions. Recognizing that faculty and staff likely are using social media at an increasing pace, schools should formulate and communicate policies for staff online social media interactions with students and parents.

Adult Use Of Social Media

It should come as no surprise to any school administrator that many of your employees are on Facebook. Indeed, they probably use more than one social networking site – it is quite likely faculty and staff members also are using Twitter, LinkedIn, and others. Facebook statistics indicate that...