Public records include electronic communication such as text messages, chats, voice calls, emails, and social media posts. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Open Records/Sunshine Laws are federal and state laws which require government institutions to respond to records requested by any member of the public within 10 days. Non-compliance to this rule is hefty, with penalties ranging from $500 per violation to $1,500 for violations that are willfully and knowingly committed. Dismissal announcement for reasons such as inclement weather, special events, facility maintenance, etc.Time-critical events such as school lockdown, fire, health emergencies, safety threats, etc.notifications about general school activities.įCC clarified, however, that if a student or parent provides their cellphone number as their only contact point of contact, they already provided consent to be contacted about school-related messages.įCC provided another statutory exception in TCPA liability, i.e., those messages that are for “emergency purposes.” What only remains a challenge for public schools is to identify which of their messages fall under this category.įortunately, the FCCC listed several examples that should be considered emergencies:.surveys that provide input on school-related issues, and.calls relating to parent-teacher conferences,.
Implemented to prevent telemarketers from breaching the mobile privacy of the public, the updated TCPA presents new challenges for public schools that rely on text messaging to send notification messages to the parents.įCC provided a list of school-initiated messages that require prior consent of the recipients: Under the amended Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), organizations including government-funded schools are restricted to use text messaging and automated calls to deliver information to their constituents around the area unless they obtain explicit permission (opt-in) of the owner of the phone number. To help public schools navigate the compliant use of text messaging, we detail in this infographic the background of the top regulations for text message archiving and mobile compliance. This involves the duty to capture and record mobile SMS, which is a primary focus in most electronic records public records laws such as Freedom of Information Act, Open Records Laws, among others. These types of electronic communications are highly-regulated, and therefore must be monitored and supervised closely by public school administrators. While highly effective in engaging students and parents, regulators still view text messages sent by organizations, including public schools (including alerts and one-time information requests) as transactional – meaning they are still defined as marketing messages. However, despite the opportunities from utilizing these contemporary communicate channels, understanding the depth of regulations concerning compliant use of text messaging remains an unchartered territory for many public schools. Surveys found that more and more public elementary schools, high schools, and universities are using text messaging, along with voice calling and instant messaging as means to enhance their parent outreach efforts and improve student body involvement in campus events. Texting is no longer a taboo nor an exceedingly casual mode of communication among public school administrators and teachers.