A Toowoomba teacher has been suspended and was charged with two counts of indecent treatment of a child under the age of 16 after allegedly sending inappropriate Snapchats to a female student. A spokesperson for the Department of Education and Training said that the Department immediately suspended the staff member and that he is being investigated for potentially serious offences.
The Courier Mail reports that in the past 6 years, over a dozen teachers have had their registration cancelled following inappropriate online relationships with their students. The Queensland College of Teachers reported this week that social media had been mentioned in 13 decisions to suspend teachers since 2009.
This case involves an alleged ‘inappropriate relationship’ between teacher and student based on their interaction on social media. The category of ‘inappropriate’ is not restricted to sexual relationships – it can encompass many different types of relationships in which interaction is not strictly professional. In Queensland, teachers are required to obtain permission from the school before contacting students on social media and these communications must be directly relevant to school-related matters.
Previous decisions of the Queensland Civil Administrative Tribunal have also involved the misuse of Snapchat by teachers, including one case earlier this year. In June a teacher appeared before the Tribunal for allegedly sending two inappropriate images to students on Snapchat. One was captioned “Gym b*tches!” and the other was an image of his face, with two fingers held in a V and his tongue poking through the centre of the V, with the caption “Stahp it”. Snapchat images are commonly sent to a large list of contacts and do not necessarily have to involve a one-on-one reciprocal dialogue. In its ruling in June, the QCAT said ”teachers are expected to model responsible behaviour and to maintain professional boundaries in their dealings with students. [This teacher] repeatedly fell short of these expectations.”
Although the Toowoomba teacher was charged with an offence that only exists in Queensland, all teachers should be aware of the issues surrounding the use of social media. Children’s e-Safety Commissioner Alastair MacGibbon has stated that social media has ‘has opened up the dilemma of where you draw the boundary’.
Inappropriate use of technology can be a breach of school policy or employment contract and, in some circumstances, amount to professional misconduct. To ensure that all staff are aware of their obligations, schools should have a social media policy in place which outlines the expectations of teachers and discusses the consequences of breaches. Teachers may be using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to communicate with a large group of people and must be aware of the possible consequences if their posts reach students. A high level of vigilance is required, especially considering that students may be actively searching for teachers on social media.
The Victorian Department of Education & Training has developed a set of guidelines for teachers when using social media. The recommendations include:
Teachers must ensure that, if they choose to use social media, they take reasonable steps to protect their privacy and ensure no unauthorised communication with students occurs.