Teachers and students in Lamar County, Miss., can’t be internet friends this year after the local school board revamped rules prohibiting them from being friends through online social networks, the Clarion-Ledger reports–and two other Pine Belt, Miss., school districts are looking at similar policies. The Lamar County School Board approved the staff policy against online communication and text messaging between teachers and students at its July 7 meeting. Online social networks such as MySpace and Facebook allow people to create profiles that include pictures and personal information, with the option of adding friends who also have online profiles. The casual rapport between students and teachers on such networks concerned the school board, Superintendent Ben Burnett said. "It’s not to say teachers and students can’t have a MySpace page; that’s a First Amendment right," he said. "This just keeps them from communicating socially through those kinds of means." Burnett said the school board hasn’t decided what consequences the policy carries or how it will be monitored. He said the idea for the policy was addressed by board attorney Rick Norton after attending a conference earlier this year…

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