Academy District 20 is officially cracking down on unwelcome friendships between students and teachers. A new policy has been put into effect for teachers stating that they cannot have any social media contact with students unless it is school related.

Teachers have been told to “unfriend” any students they have contact with on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social networking site.  This new policy was created in hopes of stopping any possible inappropriate relationship from forming between staff and students.

“I think it clarifies what an inappropriate student/teacher relationship is, and it addresses the means, we’ve learned, some of those relationships begin,” Nannette Anderson, a D-20 spokesperson, said.

“I think, because we have so much different technology now, it’s best to have a blanket policy that covers all possible areas,” Ms. Bayne explained. “Air Academy is very unique because students do have such a close relationship with their teachers, but we just have to make sure it stays as professional as possible…I gave up my Facebook but I did have my own personal policy to not friend students until after graduation, so I would come back from the graduation ceremony to fifteen friend requests from former students.” Ms. Bayne also runs Link Crew and says, “My cell phone number was given to students for a quicker contact option, but you can get other ways of contact from a cell phone number, such as Snapchat, and you have to be careful with those sorts of things.”

Failure to obey the new rule will land the student in disciplinary action and the teacher could end up terminated from the district. Falcon District 49, District 11, and Harrison District 2 have a “common sense” law that is not as strict, but could change anytime with the new D-20 policy.

History teacher, David Kipp, believes that a healthy in-school relationship is important and doesn’t feel the need for anything other than that. He understands that social media helps to “keep people connected” and is an important thing in a teenager’s life, although it has the possibility to do harm.

Despite the debate about whether or not it’s a good idea to stop social media interaction, Academy District 20 says that they are keeping it. Ultimately, it will keep you safe and out of trouble. If you have any questions go to asd20.org.