JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County Public Schools staff could be held to a new standard on social media with a new policy aimed at “protecting students.” However, some parents are concerned the policy only applies to employees, while school board members are not held accountable.
“To me, it’s having an environment that’s welcoming and comforting is so important for our students because they come to school with all these expectations placed on them,” Mandy Rubin, a mother of two, said.
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Those are the expectations Rubin has when sending her kids to school. It’s the same expectation outlined for district employees in a new policy posted on Monday night’s school board agenda.
The policy states, “District employees are expected to be professional, civil and appropriate in all their communications with students, parents, fellow employees and the public, including in their electronic and online communications. This expectation applies to the posting of publicly accessible communications and material on the Internet, where it is available for viewing by members of the public, including students and parents.”
“I think any policy that we are creating for teachers, it makes no sense to have a different set of standards for our elected officials who are technically leading the district,” Rubin said. “It’s a double standard.”
Rubin is part of the group Public School Defenders, which hosted a demonstration last month against new Board Member Tony Ricardo’s posts on social media. Some said they were anti-LGBTQ and racist.’
READ: ‘Deeply troubling:’ LGBTQ advocates concerned over posts from incoming Duval school board member
“The word that comes to my mind is shock and disgust,” Rubin said.
“I’m beyond disturbed seeing the blatant bigotry of Board Member Tony Ricardo,” Katie Hathway said during public comment during a September board meeting.
The new policy prohibits material considered defamatory, vulgar, or that could incite violence.
Action News Jax asked DCPS why it does not include board members and what the repercussions are for violations. Instead, a district representative said the item was removed from Monday night’s agenda and is expected to return to the agenda during January’s board meeting.
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Public School Defenders found similar policies in Broward and Hillsborough counties that did apply to school board members. The group is asking DCPS to do the same.
Action News Jax has reached out to Ricardo about the posts on his Facebook timeline. He has not responded to our requests for comment, but his page is no longer public.
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