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Reversing its first proposal to ban social media interaction between students and teachers, the Virginia Board of Education has recommended a new policy that would allow texting, "Facebooking," and other forms of communication between students and teachers, provided that the content remains professional.

The policy provides general guidelines for school districts to follow in continuing efforts to prevent sexual abuse. School districts may amend or ignore the recommendations as they see fit.

The policy marks a shift in student-teacher interaction that has already sparked controversy in Virginia's school districts. "Text messaging is a legitimate means of exchanging information-one of the most rapidly-growing communications channels," said Kitty Boitnott, president of the Virginia Education Association, in a letter to the Board of Education, "and we question whether policy guidance that allows for no legitimate use of a text message between an educator and a pupil will be outdated before it is published."

Others object to any student-teacher social media communication. "As a parent I do not want my child and his teacher having that kind of relationship," said one parent from Linwood Christian high school. "I don't believe that a teacher should have that much time on their hands that they should be having a Facebook relationship with a student."

The advent of social media has introduced a new dilemma to American school districts. As texting, Twitter, Facebook, and other forms of communication become more popular, protecting students from sexual abuse and maintaining a professional environment have become increasingly difficult.

Some districts have embraced the changes. California's Murrieta Valley, for instance, is framing new policies to aid schools in the use of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Connecticut's town of Cheshire, on the other hand, is also drafting plans to prohibit any social networking between teachers and students. "Social networking sites … are structured to be closed environments," the new policy reads. "[A]s such the school district discourages students and teachers from using them to communicate with each other."

The new policy in Virginia seeks to find something of a middle-ground for school districts. It emphasizes proper behavior rather than specific modes of communication and, ultimately, allows schools to make their own decisions regarding social media interaction.

"What we wanted to do is strike a balance," Department of Education spokesman Charles Pyle said in an article on HamptonRoads.com. "[We wanted] to not be overly prescriptive but still provide useful guidance to school divisions in terms of where they need to focus."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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