Nixon: Facebook Law fix isn't much better than Facebook Law

I have written numerous times over the past few weeks that SB 1, the so-called fix to Sen. Jane Cunningham's Facebook Law, could end up being worse than the bill it is replacing.

Apparently, Gov. Jay Nixon does not hold the bill in high regard either, though he signed it Friday.

In a signing statement, Nixon said the law is not much better than the social networking provision in the original SB 54. I still contend that it is worse, since it will essentially relegate authority in most school disricts to the unelected Missouri School Boards Association, which provides policies for most school districts.

The governor's signing statement is printed below:

On October 21, 2011, I approved said Senate Commitee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1.

My approval of Senate Commmitee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1 is provided after considerable deliberation. Although it eliminates particularly egregious provisions that were contained in Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 54, passed during First Regular Session of the Ninety-Sixth General Assembly, Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill Nov. 1 is not without flaws.

First, Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1 requires each school district to promulgate a policy directed at the use of electronic communication between staff members and students rather than its substance and the policy must be drafted in a manner that will "Prevent" improper communications. School districts may find it challenging to promulgate a policy that erects adequate restrictions around the use of electronic media sufficient to "prevent" improper communications without also preventing otherwise appropriate communications.

Second, under Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1, a school district will need to determine whether its policy applies to "employees" as that term is used in 162.069.1(2), RSMo, to the extent such terms have different meanings.

These challenges could have been avoided with a more deliberate approach, which is why my Special Message was narrowly drafted to effectuate immediate relief for educators by simply repealing the offending provisions of Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 54.

Nonetheless, Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1 is an improvement- primarily through subtraction- over Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 54. Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1 eliminates three of the problematic provisions of Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 54 and Senate Commmitee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1 will give school districts an additional two months, until March 1, 2012, to promulgate policies. Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 1 is not perfect, but the alternative of educators having to conform to the unreasonable restrictions of Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 54 is a far worse result.

This will eventually be decided in court, something which could have been prevented if Nixon had simply vetoed SB 54 in July.