Somerset County Board of Education Approves Several Policy Changes

Westover, Md. — The Somerset County Board of Education adopted several policy changes during a public work session meeting Tuesday night along with approving first reads for multiple other policies.

The board has focused recent efforts on how the district handles progressive employee discipline, setting behavioral standards and personal and professional social media use.  During Tuesday’s meeting, the board approved Policy 700-27, 700-56, and 700-57 and removed two other polices they deemed redundant do to other rules.

Policy 700-27 sets the standards for behavior for Somerset County employees and lists the forms of discipline employees can face for violating the standards. The policy specifies examples of improper communication and conduct between adults and minors that falls under immoral conduct section, which includes sexting, calling and scheduling dates with minors, and isolating minors to seduce or influence them.

The new policy also updates examples of misconduct in office, which now includes misrepresentation of board policies, deliberate posting of deceptive content about Somerset County Public Schools (SCPS) or posting false, misleading or slanderous content on social media sites.

Previous policy listed misrepresentation of employee benefits, privileges and other rules and regulations as misconduct in office.

The policy also adds more examples of what would be considered incompetence.

Policy 700-56 creates a progressive discipline process for employees for violations of employee conduct standards and adds significant detail to the process of discipline steps and the process of hearings and appeals on discipline decisions.

Policy 700-57 sets rules and recommended practices for personal and professional social media use. One significant change to the policy includes updating what platforms fall under the definition of social media.

The new policy language also describes scope of employment and liability stemming from employee social media posting.

“Off-duty personal posts fall outside of the scope of business activity. Employees shall be personally liable for content they post on personal social media accounts, induce and create hostile environment, undermine employer’s fitness as a role model, create posts that disrupt school operations and posts that represent personal views as official,” the policy states.

The policy also states that if someone sues SCPS the board is not automatically liable for posts by employees, especially if the posts are “outside scope, malicious, or grossly negligent.” It adds that the school may seek “contribution of indemnification from the employee.”

The policy also sets definitions of personal and professional social media. It adds that public school employees may not use personal social media to publish official school messages. And employees who make, “false, misleading, deceptive, disruptive and out of scope” comments and posts that lead to liability for other employees, parents, students or the school system may be subject to personal liability.

Another change adds a section listing impermissible use of social media, which states that only authorized individuals may post notices, information about school operations and business and press releases. Policy now mandates disclosures for all employees posting business related content after work hours or outside scope of regular employment.

The policy states that it does not apply for the public request for comment period for adoptions or modifications of school system policies which will be reviewed by the board.

Under the section pertaining to press inquires received over social media, the Somerset County Board of Education attorney is now listed as an individual to refer inquires to. The policy now states that employees shall only communicate with students and parents “must be via somerset url and approved sites.

The approved changes come a few months after a dispute between the school board and the Somerset Education Association, the local teacher’s union, over a social media post regarding controversial changes to Media Policy 500-19.

The board heard first reads for three policies, with changes largely centered around updating language to match changes made at the state level.

Superintendent of Schools David Bromwell said the changes allow the board to keep policies fresh and relevant in a modern context. Bromwell gave an example of a discipline policy from 2009 that didn’t have language about prohibiting things like vaping.

“You have to stay up to date with the times. Like with the disciplinary policy, there’s something in there about tobacco. Well, there’s a whole lot more things that are going on in our society now than worrying about tobacco. Not that you shouldn’t worry about it, but there’s vaping there. There’s drugs that are involved with making vaping, illegal drugs,” Bromwell said. 

Bromwell said the policies were also updated the clean-up confusing language found in previous policies.

Now that the board has approved the three policies as amended, Bromwell will go to work creating the procedures to provide specifics on the policies.