Hurtful social media posts, actions among CBSD student clubs leads to policy changes

The Central Bucks School District will revise policies for what student-run clubs can post on social media after recent allegations of anti-Israel posts appearing on accounts.

Parents had raised concerns about posts appearing on Instagram accounts for the Central Bucks West High School Muslim Student Association and its club advisor.

“We have some very nebulous guidelines on what can and cannot be posted for clubs, so we are changing that,” acting Superintendent Jim Scanlon said.

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The MSA removed an offensive post on March 31 and issued an apology saying it was “accidentally shared,” but some parents said that they did not feel the apology was sincere and urged the board to discipline those involved.

The complaints against the club advisor, a Spanish teacher at West, included that he encouraged students to follow an Instagram account for his side business, which includes posts that advocate for Palestinian freedom and including photos of students.

School Board President Karen Smith said the administration investigated the allegations and it does not appear the teacher violated district policies.

Plumstead resident Adam Wright, though, questioned why no faculty or administrator is responsible for supervising student club social media accounts.

At a school board meeting last month, more than a dozen current and former students and parents spoke in support of the teacher advisor. Some also spoke about alleged anti-Muslim comments in schools and personal losses experienced in the recent round of violence.

Scanlon acknowledged the ongoing Middle East violence is a sensitive and difficult topic that Jewish and Muslim students are struggling with.

Last week, he said the tensions were raised a few weeks ago when MSA members learned members of West’s Jewish Student Union wrote letters to Israeli soldiers that made insensitive remarks about Muslims.

Scanlon said he has spoken and met with parents, administration, and outside organizations to get a better understanding of the concerns.

The MSA and JSU members have also been holding joint meetings to educate each other about how the conflicts in Israel and Gaza impacted them, said Scanlon, who attended one of the sessions.

A student-only education session about the groups has been planned and Scanlon has met with both advisors to go over guidelines such as limiting social media posts to club activities and information and avoid sharing third-party posts.

Central Bucks has more than 100 school-based clubs that are student organized and run, and supervised by volunteer staff members, Scanlon said.

Scanlon wants the tweaked social media policy for student clubs to clearly define the roles of club members and advisors and establish clear guidelines for what can and cannot be posted on district social media sites and inside schools.

As far as faculty outside social media, the district has little control over the content of those accounts, but it can address them in the student guidelines, Scanlon said.

The board’s policy committee will discuss proposed policy changes and administrative regulations at its meeting in May.

Scanlon sees the recent student club incidents as an opportunity to educate the larger Central Bucks community on how to have effective conversations around sensitive and difficult topics.

The district has scheduled a “Compassionate Listening” event on May 16 at the Tohickon Middle School starting at 7 p.m.

The session will be led by Barbra Simmons, the former executive director of the Bucks County Peace Center who has been holding events throughout the county on how to talk about tough topics.

“Our goal is to assure our students feel safe and they are heard,” Scanlon added. “We must learn to listen, process information and recognize various perspectives, emotions and anger that this war has resurrected.”

Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: CBSD student club tensions over Middle East war prompts policy changes