Nixon decision on Facebook Law fix due in three days

Sometime in the next three days, Gov. Jay Nixon has to make a decision on the so-called Facebook Law fix.

Nixon has until Oct. 21 to decide whether to sign the bill, which revises Sen. Jane Cunningham's SB 54, veto it, or let it become law without his signature.

The bill, which was devised by the senator with input from representatives of the major teacher organizations (but with little input from actual teachers) requires all schools to devise a policy for communication between teachers and students by March 1.

The "fix" became necessary when teachers and parents alike created an uproar over the social networking portion of SB 54, which eliminated teachers and students being friends on social networking sites such as Facebook. Many experts had said it could very well have forced teachers to drop Facebook altogether since it would have still been possible for students to contact teachers or vice versa without becoming friends.

Nixon added the issue to the legislature's special session, but asked that the social networking provision be eliminated, not revised.

The revision, as I have noted earlier, is supposed to put the decision in the hands of local school board members and teachers, but in fact, leaves it to the Missouri School Boards Association, an unelected organization which writes policy for most Missouri schools.