Charlotte County Public Schools

Social Media Terms of Use

By posting or commenting on any social media platform used by Charlotte County Public Schools, you participate by your own choice, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username, and any information you provide therein. You further agree to the following terms of use:

Charlotte County Public Schools maintains a social media program for the purpose of engaging and interacting with our community, providing relevant and timely news, information, and events, sharing educational resources, and issuing important notifications that may affect students, families, staff, and residents of Charlotte County.

Limited Public Forum
All social media platforms used by Charlotte County Public Schools are designated as Limited Public Forums. The district welcomes a person’s right to express their opinion and encourages posters to keep comments relevant to the topic in question. Posting of any content on any social media platform used by Charlotte County Public Schools, by any visitor, follower, subscriber, or fan, constitutes acceptance of the terms of use described here in this policy.

For purposes of this policy, a social media platform is the website or app offered to the public to provide audio, video, still-photo, or written communication between other members of the public and/or representatives of certain groups, businesses, organizations, or departments. Examples of social media platforms include Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, website blogs with commenting capabilities, forums, and emergency notification services. The definition of content as used in this policy refers to any written copy, photos, graphics, videos, live video streams, comments, or any form of communicative content exchanged between parties.

Emergency or Non-Emergency Requests
The posting of emergency-related requests, including concerns that require immediate attention (such as threats or school safety issues), is discouraged and will not guarantee a response by Charlotte County Public Schools or any emergency service provider. In case of an emergency, please dial 911. For concerns related to school safety or student well-being, please contact your school directly or call the district office.

Endorsements
“Following,” “Liking,” or engaging with Charlotte County Public Schools, or any employee of the district, does not indicate an endorsement of that individual’s actions or comments. A comment posted by a member of the public on any Charlotte County Public Schools social media site is the opinion of the commentator or poster only. Publication of a comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by, Charlotte County Public Schools, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the district’s opinions or policies.

Moderation of Content
Charlotte County Public Schools’ social media platforms are intended to be family-friendly and respectful spaces for dialogue. When applicable, the district uses platform-provided moderation/filtering tools to limit offensive or inappropriate content. The district actively monitors its social media platforms and will remove content that violates these guidelines without prior notice.

The district reserves the right to remove and/or block anyone who posts content deemed inappropriate. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Comments not related to the original topic, including spam or unintelligible posts
   
• Profane, obscene, or pornographic content and/or language
   
• Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, or national origin
   
• Defamatory or personal attacks
   
• Threats to any person or organization
   
• Political endorsements or opposition of any candidate or ballot measure
   
• Commercial solicitations or advertisements
   
• Conduct in violation of any federal, state, or local law
   
• Encouragement of illegal activity
   
• Information that could compromise public safety, security, or student privacy
   
• Content violating copyrights or other legal ownership rights
   
• Harassment, stalking, or bullying
   
• Repeated posts or spam
   
• Posts that could interfere with or compromise student safety, investigations, or district operations
   
• External links that are not pre-approved or relevant to the conversation