Educators, lawmaker consider "tweaks' to new school safety law

A group of education lobbyists - including representatives of the Missouri State Teachers Association, which took their complaints to court last week - met Tuesday afternoon with Sen. Jane Cunningham's staff for a discussion of ways to draft compromise language for a new law that already has a number of teachers upset.

A section in the "Amy Hestir Student Protection Act" says no teacher "shall establish, maintain, or use a nonwork-related Internet site which allows exclusive access with a current or former student."

Critics say that means teachers and other school employees are prohibited from using social media sites like "Facebook," because they have functions where private messages or two-party "chats" can occur without anyone else seeing or reading them.

But state Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, who's championed the law for six years, said the critics don't understand it.