At least one bill has made it out of the special legislative session.
Today the Missouri House overwhelmingly passed the so-called “Facebook Fix,” which would remove confusing language from a new law regarding teacher-student messaging via social media. That law was placed on hold last month by a Cole County judge, who ruled that barring teachers from websites that allow private messaging with students would have a, quote, “chilling effect” on free speech rights.
State Representative Chris Kelly (D, Columbia) sponsored the "Facebook Fix" in the House.
“This bill is a lesson to us all in the effect of unintended consequences," Kelly said. "When we make errors, we need to fix them, and that’s what we’re doing here today.”
In addition to removing the old language, the bill also requires school districts to develop policies on communications between all school employees and students. That could be a problem, as Governor Jay Nixon’s special session call only allows for the removal of the old language. The Governor has not indicated whether he will approve the bill or not.
