Social Media Use Guidelines
Falmouth Public Schools (FPS) uses district-managed social media platforms to communicate information about the district and our schools. FPS uses Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for its district presence, and pages for each school. Profile sites are set up by the district, and overseen by the district's Webmaster, Social Media Manager, and principal-approved designees at each school, who help develop content. We update social media pages often to share news about our school district and schools, the achievements of the students and staff, and other relevant district information. In times of inclement weather that necessitate school closing or other school-related emergencies, the pages will be updated in conjunction with the alerting of local and area media. All comments posted on any of our social media pages are at the discretion of the page administrators. The page administrators will review all postings to ensure they do not violate the district’s Acceptable Use Guidelines regarding Internet access and practices and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act provisions. Individuals making comments on the pages are requested to respect their fellow users by ensuring the discussion remains civil, especially since social media platforms allow individuals 13 and over to join. Comments are also subject to the platform's Terms of Use and Code of Conduct. Remember that your name and photo will be next to your comment, visible to anyone visiting the page. Participants must post under their real names. Posts by pseudonyms, group names, and fake profiles may be removed. The district welcomes thoughts and comments and looks forward to what you have to say. However, we will not leave postings that:
• Contain abusive, discriminatory, or inappropriate language or statements. This includes remarks that contain obscenities or are sexually explicit.
• Easily identify students and/or staff in defamatory, abusive, or generally negative terms. If you disagree with the content, we ask that you refrain from personal attacks or being disrespectful to others.
• Do not show proper consideration for others’ privacy or are considered likely to offend or provoke others – i.e. don’t pick fights or goad others into inflammatory debates. Malicious intent and participation not in the spirit of civil conversation will be excluded.
• Are Off Topic. We will exclude comments not related to the subject of the conversation. Please contact us via email if you have a question on a different topic. It is always best to start with the person most involved with your topic (eg, classroom teacher, building principal).
• Are spam – i.e. repeatedly posting the same comment or comments that are simply advertising/promoting a service or product.
• Break the law or encourage others to do so. This includes respecting copyright and fair use laws. If you are talking about somebody else’s work, reference this or the person, and where possible include a link. The page administrators reserve the right to not post or remove any comments at any time, for any reason. Repeat offenders will be blocked from posting. Send an email to [email protected] if you have feedback or would like to report an inappropriate comment for us to review.
