Nixon urges lawmakers to wrap up special session

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCUR) - Missouri governor Jay Nixon reiterated his push today for lawmakers to wrap up their more than three week Special session that’s cost tax payers more than $100,000 dollars.

"You know it’s just time for the house and senate to resolve their differences and get a fisc responsible bill to my desk, or bring the special session to a close,” the governor said.

Nixon also said he’s taking a double look at the revised social networking bill lawmakers recently passed. It overturns a previously enacted law limiting teacher interaction with students through online forums like Facebook … but lawmakers added a clause to the new bill requiring schools to come up with their own policies on such matters.

"I’m not taking a double look at it to try to figure out when to sign it or not sign it, that’s not releveant, it’s just making sure that having an individual school district do a narrower type of policy is an acceptable alternative here," Nixon said.

Nixon spoke in Kansas City Thursday, touting a new $20 million dollar federal grant the state recently got to bring new health service training opportunities to thousands of underemployed residents throughout the state.

Elana Gordon, KCUR

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House Committee approves changes to Facebook law

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - The Missouri House Education Committee approved new wording in the Facebook bill on Monday.

The adjusted language clarifies that the state does not restrict student-staff communication on social networking sites. But it does require each school district to develop its own policy.

Columbia Representative Chris Kelly presented the amended bill and says he understands why there was confusion with the old wording.

"You shouldn't write legislation so it can be understood. You should write legislation so it cannot be misunderstood and we did not do that," Kelly said.

But Clay County Representative Myron Neth says too much of the original bill was taken out.

"I think it's leaving open a situation where in one district you're allowing this stuff to happen and in another you aren't," Neth said.

That didn't stop Representative Neth from voting in favor of the bill. The House Education Committee unanimously approved the revised bill and it will now go before the full House.

A spokesperson for Governor Nixon said the governor won't know what he'll do with the bill until it's passed.

Mariel Seidman-Gati, Missouri Digital News

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Education groups and lawmakers reach agreement on Facebook law

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - Missouri lawmakers have compromised with education groups on language in the highly debated Facebook bill.

The Senate Education Committee voted in favor of revisions to the social networking law.

This unanimous approval came after the Missouri State Teachers Association signed on to the approach.

The MSTA previously contested the law restricting all teacher-student communication on social networking sites, like Facebook.

The bill's sponsor, St. Louis County Republican Senator Jane Cunningham, says she has worked with education groups to clarify the language of the bill.

"We are absolutely giving the local district the responsibility to develop their own policy at their local level," Cunningham said.

The bill will go before the full Senate in the 2012 legislative session.

Mariel Seidman-Gati, Missouri Digital News

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Educators working with sponsor on fix for "Facebook" law

ST. LOUIS, MO (ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO) - A group of educators led by the Missouri National Education Association says its confident it can strike a deal with lawmakers to settle confusion over a new state law governing how students and teachers interact using social media like Facebook.

The law, the Amy Hestir Student Protection Act, blocks students and teachers from communicating privately on electronic media without a third party present. For example, an e-mail between a student and teacher would have to be copied to someone else as well.

Teachers have expressed concern that the law would prevent them from "friending" students on Facebook even after the students have left their classroom. Other say the laws would prevent teachers who are also parents from emailing or texting with their child if the child has ever also been their student.

The Missouri State Teachers Association has filed suit, claiming the law is too broad and infringes on the First Amendment rights of its members.

Kit Crancer, the chief of staff to the act's sponsor, Republican state Senator Jane Cunningham of Chesterfield, said the changes would be minimal.

"Frankly, we’re in favor of the provisions which are blocking private communication between an instructor and a student," Crancer said. "We want to clarify and at least provide guidelines for all the instructors in the state."

Crancer and Otto Fajen, the legislative director for the MNEA, met on Tuesday to start discussions about the changes. Both are confident a deal can be worked out to get the new language included in the special session that starts Sept. 6, but Fajen says teachers shouldn't panic if that doesn't happen.

"There’s no need, from our perspective, for teachers to try to independently decipher what this all means," Fajen said. "They can just kind of look to, 'what does my supervisor say is the policy?'"

A spokesman for Gov. Jay Nixon, who sets the agenda for a special session, would not say if the session would be expanded if a compromise could be reached.

Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio

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Missouri State Teachers Association challenges Facebook law

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - The Missouri State Teachers Association is challenging a controversial social media law in the courts.

The MSTA filed the petition with the Cole County Circuit Court on Friday.

The law prohibits teachers from communicating privately with students on Facebook or through text messages.

The Amy Hestir Student Protection Act is intended to protect students from predatory teachers. But Missouri State Teachers Association spokesperson Todd Fuller says the law is too open to interpretation and bars legitimate educational interaction.

"We’re the throwing the baby out with the bath water here and putting teachers in the position of feeling like they’re guilty before proven innocent on a particular issue with social media, and they’re just trying to use it to reach students," Fuller said.

The MSTA is challenging the law, claiming it infringes on freedom of speech, assembly and religion.

Governor Jay Nixon signed the bill into law in July. It will take effect August 28.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Missouri Facebook law draws attention of ACLU

A new Missouri law prohibits teachers from ‘friending’ students on Facebook … and the law caught the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU of Eastern Missouri is considering litigation to challenge the law, citing free speech infringement.

Legal director Tony Rothert says the law is too vague and that legal action is possible.

"I think reviewing the law and hearing from legislators on what they were intending to do versus what the law actually says, it appears that the law is crafted by people who just don’t understand how Facebook specifically and the Internet more generally work," Rothert said. "They’re spooked by technology and are trying to put restrictions on something that they don’t understand."

Rothert says it is odd that the law is designed to protect children from predator teachers yet bans them from interacting with teachers in a setting that has an evidence trail.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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