Freedom of Speech and Privacy in State Employee Positions

Freedom of Speech and Privacy in State Employee Positions

As soon as I got home this afternoon to start Spring Break, both of my parents, state employees who work for my counties school system, received an email reminding them of their Freedom of Speech and Privacy when it comes to posting on social media using the school's and counties wifi and technology.

From my understanding, an individual in the county must have been using the school mandated technology or wifi system to post on their social media either about classroom/school happenings or other events that would hurt, harm, or challenge what has been said in the school district. 

I write this blog post because it is a perfect example of Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment in action. Every individual has the right to post what they want on social media unless it harms others. If an individual that is a state mandated employee is using the technology issued by the school or the wifi on school grounds, they are no longer protected by the First Amendment. Not only did they use the technology that they had to sign a contract for to write contradicting statements on social media, but they are now putting out information that should not be public knowledge. 

My parents said that they only receive this type of email after the fact, so it is now known that an individual in our county has done either one, or multiple, of these actions. 

It is interesting to me that an individual would still commit to this type of action even though they know it may get them fired. Why would they think that it was okay to use school technology that can be traced to worry about their personal information? Why would they think that it was okay to use school wifi or routers to post either slander or false information? It is just interesting to me that no one would think about their actions before they took them, especially when being a state employee.