"On Dec. 26, new state rules take effect that say educators must "refrain from inappropriate communication with a student," including use of cellphones, text messaging, e-mail, instant messaging, blogging or other social networking.

The change is part of an update to the Texas Educators' Code of Ethics proposed by the State Board for Educator Certification and endorsed by the State Board of Education last month.

Ethics violations can result in sanctions ranging from reprimands to loss of a teaching certificate.

Staffers at the Texas Education Agency proposed the changes because teachers were being referred for discipline by school district administrators for sending students "thousands" of text messages.

And while the content of the messages was not necessarily inappropriate, the volume and time of day could mean that the adult may have been "grooming" the child for a sexual relationship, the TEA said in a November news release.

New rules allow officials to look at the totality of the communications between the adult and the student. The previous ethics code did not address social media, said Debbie Ratcliffe, a TEA spokeswoman.

"It's just a growing area of concern, and we didn't have much guidance about how to provide that," Ratcliffe said. "It should make it clearer for teachers. Sometimes it's not what they say. It's the way they go about it."

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/12/05/2681445/state-sets-social-media-ethics.html#ixzz17MzZ8UMk