RSA 189:70. Educational Institution Policies on Social Media.
AI-assisted research summary: Educational institutions may not require or pressure students or applicants to give access to personal social media accounts, change privacy settings, add contacts, or punish refusal.
I. An educational institution shall not: (a) Require or request a student or prospective student to disclose or to provide access to a personal social media account through the student's or prospective student's user name, password, or other means of authentication that provides access. (b) Require or request a student or prospective student to access a personal social media account in the presence of any employee of the educational institution in a manner that enables the employee to observe the contents of the personal social media account. (c) Compel a student or prospective student to add anyone to his or her list of contacts associated with a personal social media account or require, request, suggest, or cause a student or prospective student to change the privacy settings associated with a personal social media account. (d) Take or threaten to take any action against a student or prospective student to discipline or prohibit such student or prospective student from participation in curricular or co-curricular activities for refusal to disclose information or to take actions specified in subparagraphs (a)-(c). (e) Fail or refuse to admit a prospective student as a result of the refusal by the prospective student to disclose information or to take actions specified in subparagraphs (a)-(c). II. Nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit an educational institution from adopting a policy which permits: (a) Conducting an investigation, without requiring or requesting access to a personal social media account through username, password, or other means of authentication, for the purpose of ensuring compliance with applicable law or educational institution's policies against student misconduct based on the receipt of specific information about activity associated with a student's social media account. In the case of a minor, the educational institution may request the student's parent or guardian to provide specific data from the student's social media account. (b) Revoking a student's access, in whole or in part, to equipment or computer networks owned or operated by the educational institution. (c) Monitoring the usage of the educational institution's computer network. (d) Requesting a student voluntarily share a printed copy of a specific communication from the student's social media account that is relevant to an ongoing investigation. III. This subdivision shall not apply to personal social media accounts that are created or provided by the educational institution if the student has been provided advance notice that the account may be monitored at any time by employees of the educational institution. IV. In this section: (a) "Educational institution" means a public or private school, college, university, or other institution that offers students, participants, or trainees an organized course of study or training that is academic, technical, vocational, trade-oriented, or designed to prepare a person for employment. "Educational institution" shall not include a military school. (b) "Social media account" means an account, service, or profile on a social networking website that is used by a current or prospective student primarily for personal communications. This definition shall not apply to an account opened or provided by an educational institution and intended to be used solely on behalf of the educational institution. This definition shall not apply to platforms used for demonstrating evidence in student career development. Source: Source. 2015, 270:1, eff. Sept. 19, 2015. 2023, 225:1, eff. Oct. 3, 2023.