Social Media Policy

This document defines the social networking and social media policy for the Cleburne ISD. To address the fast-changing landscape of the internet and the way residents communicate and obtain information online, district departments may consider using social media tools to reach a broader audience. The district encourages the use of social media to further the goals of the district and the missions of its departments, where appropriate.

Personal use

All district employees may have personal social media sites. These sites should remain personal in nature and share personal opinions. While district employees may have a First Amendment right to comment on some district issues that are of significant public concern, employees should know that posts about district issues that are closer to employment complaints or human resources concerns may not be protected. Employees should be mindful of the distinction between sharing personal and district views. District employees must never use their district e-mail account or password in conjunction with a personal social media site. The following guidance is for district employees who decide to have a personal social media or who decide to comment on posts about official district business:

• State your name and, if relevant, role, when discussing district business

• Use a disclaimer such as: “The postings on this site are my own and don’t reflect or represent the opinions of the district for which I work.”

Professional Use

All official district-related communication through social media, should remain professional in nature and should always be conducted in accordance with the district's communications policy, practices and expectations. Employees must not use official district social media for political purposes, to conduct private commercial transactions, or to engage in private business activities. District employees should be mindful that inappropriate use of official district social media can be grounds for disciplinary action. Only individuals authorized by the District may publish content to the District's online platforms.

If social media is used for official district business, the entire district site, regardless of any personal views, is subject to best practice guidelines and standards.

What To Post:

• Relevant - Information that engages residents and pertains to their daily lives
• Timely - Pertains to deadlines, upcoming events, or current news Actionable -
• Actionable - Prompts residents to take an action

Please refer to the district style guide for specific guidelines on content format.

What Not To Post:

District employees may not publish content on district social media sites that includes

• Confidential information

• Copyrighted material without permission

• Profane, racist, sexist, threatening or derogatory content or comments Partisan political views

• Commercial endorsements or spam

All District social media sites shall be (1) approved by the Communication Department Representative, (2) published using approved social networking platform and tools, and (3) administered by the contact or their designee.

If a social media page is no longer of use, (1) notify the Communication Department Representative, (2) ensure records have been archived according to district guidelines, (3) unpublish and delete page.

Social media sites are subject to applicable public records laws. Any content produced or maintained on an District social media site, including communication posted by the District and communication received from citizens, is a public record. The department maintaining a site shall preserve records pursuant to the relevant records retention schedule in a format that preserves the integrity of the original record and is easily producible. Furthermore, retention of social media records shall fulfill the following requirements:

• Social media records are captured in a continuous, automated fashion throughout the day to minimize a potential loss of data due to deletion and/or changes on the social networking site.
• Social media records are maintained in an authentic format (i.e. ideally the native technical format provided by the social network, such as XML or JSON) along with complete metadata.
• Social media records are archived in a system that preserves the context of communications, including conversation threads and rich media, to ensure completeness and availability of relevant information when records are accessed.
• Social media records are indexed based on specific criteria such as date, content type, and keywords to ensure that records can be quickly located and produced in an appropriate format for distribution (e.g. PDF).
• Select employee who administers one or more social networking sites on behalf of the district has self-service, read-only access to search and produce relevant social media records to fulfill public information and legal discovery requests as needed.

To build communication and trust with our residents and visitors, and encourage participation through comments and feedback. Please be aware that when engaging with this district through social media, you agree to the following:

• Contains obscenity

• Incites or promotes violence or illegal activities

• Contains spam or links to malware

• Promotes illegal discrimination (e.g. housing discrimination)

• Contains actual defamation

• Uses the copyrighted work of another