SPRING, Texas- An anti-Trump post on the Spring High School principal’s Facebook page is “under review.”
Concerned parents and others say she should keep political views to herself.
“We all make mistakes, and she definitely made a mistake,” said grandparent Karen Lundberg. “And this post went viral, very, very quickly.”
The post was originally put on Diaka Carter’s Facebook page Sunday night.
“I have to realize that expecting others to represent my disgust and views is exactly how the hell we elected this moron,” it stated.
It also mentions “a sea of white faces at his inauguration void of color, a cabinet full of non-qualified white males.”
“If I had put out this post and the word “white” had been changed to “black,” there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind that it was a racist remark,” said Lundberg.
We’re told the post was eventually removed from a school message board and the principal’s page was made private.
According to Spring ISD spokesperson, several community members raised concerns and the situation remains under review.
“Our educators and the people of influence that have voices to our students need to be uniting us, not dividing us further,” said Lundberg.
Lundberg spoke for parents who told us they did not want to appear on camera, disagreed with the post, but otherwise praised Carter as a principal.
Spring ISD says policies aim to ensure employees’ rights to free speech while respecting the diversity of the district.
We researched the social media policies of a number of other districts. Here’s what we found:
Social Media Policies
Houston ISD
- Violation of any policies, regulations, or guidelines may result in disciplinary action, including termination of employment.
- Free speech protects individuals who want to participate in social media, but the laws and courts have ruled that school districts can discipline employees if their speech, including personal online postings, disrupts school operations.
Ft. Bend ISD
- Employees who are authorized to use the system are required to abide by the provisions of the acceptable use policy and administrative procedures. Failure to do so can result in suspension of access or termination of privileges and may lead to disciplinary action.
- If an employee’s use of electronic media interferes with the employee’s ability to effectively perform his/her job duties, the employee is subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.
Cy-Fair ISD
- If an employee’s use of electronic media interferes with the employee’s ability to effectively perform his or her job duties, the employee is subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.
- Employees are prohibited from communicating with students through a personal social network site.
Aldine ISD
- If an employee posts messages/pictures which diminish the employee’s professionalism or discredit the employee’s capacity to maintain the respect of students and parents, the employee’s ability to perform effectively his or her job may be impaired. This impairment constitutes grounds for termination or other disciplinary action.
- This type of material includes, but is not limited to, text or pictures involving hate speech, nudity, obscenity, vulgarity, conduct illegal for a minor, or sexually explicit content and also includes text messages between an employee and a student or minor which are romantic, flirtatious, or sexual in nature. This impairment constitutes grounds for termination or other disciplinary action.
Clear Creek ISD
- Employees will be held to the same professional standards in their public use of electronic media as they are for any other public conduct. If an employee’s use of electronic media interferes with the employee’s ability to effectively perform his or her job duties, the employee is subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.