[August 19, 2011] Teachers sue over social media limits Tweet Aug 19, 2011 (The Kansas City Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A lawsuit filed Friday aims to halt a new state law that restricts how teachers communicate with their students on social-media websites. The suit, filed in Cole County Circuit Court by a lawyer representing the Missouri State Teachers Association, contends that the law is overly broad and violates First Amendment rights. "As a practical matter, it would have a chilling effect on any use of private email communication between teachers and students," said David Moen, a Jefferson City lawyer who filed the lawsuit. The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Jane Cunningham, a Chesterfield Republican, disagreed with Moen's interpretation of the law. "We're not prohibiting anything except hidden communication between an educator and a minor," Cunningham said. No communication is banned as long as third parties, such as a principal or parent, have access to the communication, she added. Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, signed the measure into law last month. The law is named for a Missouri woman, Amy Hestir of Columbia, Mo., who has testified that she was manipulated into a sexual relationship with a teacher years ago when she was in junior high school. The law is scheduled to go into effect Aug. 29. Moan said he was hopeful that a judge would grant an injunction halting the law's enforcement. The measure has generated nationwide media attention because it has been interpreted as barring teachers from "friending" their students or contacting them in any way on Facebook. Cunningham said she was frustrated that the association had not contacted her to discuss the legislation, which she said the group helped craft and even endorsed. The dispute is a simple misunderstanding, she said. But Moan said the law goes too far because it covers virtually any computer site visited by students and teachers. It could bar a teacher who is a youth pastor at a church from communicating with children about church activities, he argued. Attorney General Chris Koster, who likely would defend the law in court, declined comment because he had not seen the suit. To reach Steve Kraske, call 816-234-4312 or send e-mail to [email protected]. To see more of The Kansas City Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.kansascity.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]