Manitoba bans social media messaging, texting between students, teachers

This month alone, it became public that two former teachers were stripped of their licenses over inappropriate messages with kids. On Friday, the Manitoba government directed divisions and schools to ban online communication between school staff and students on outside platforms. This directive clarifies that there is never a reason for those communications to be happening in private. Those communications must always be done on a platform that is monitored and ideally with parents' consent and direct involvement. Education Minister Tracy Schmidt says social media and texting are off-limits between staff and students, including for coaches, unless parents are involved or the messages are being monitored. There is never a situation in which convenience is going to trump the safety of students. Far too often we have seen where there are instances of misconduct, that misconduct begins with inappropriate texting, online communications. It's been a concern and pattern noticed by the Commissioner of Teacher Professional Conduct. Nona Klassen was appointed in May I think that this is really important for everybody involved in the education sector and system to be making sure that the communication and professionalism goes beyond the end of the day. Schmidt says it will also arm kids with information on what's inappropriate. The minister says some divisions have already been moving in this direction. My expectation is that it is enforced immediately, and we have asked all school divisions to report in with any updated policies to our office by the end of this calendar year. The Manitoba Teachers Society says its members have been asking for clear guidance on how to communicate with students during and outside work hours. President Lillian Clausen says they're pleased the directive will be applied consistently across divisions. Rosanna Hempel, CBC News, Winnipeg.