BHE School Board Use of Electronic Mail

Use of electronic mail (email) or other electronic messaging by school board members should conform to the same standards of judgment, propriety and ethics as other forms of school board-related communication. Board members shall comply with the following guidelines when using email in the conduct of board responsibilities:

A. The Board shall not use email or other electronic messaging as a substitute for deliberations at Board meetings or for other communications or business properly confined to Board meetings.

B. Board members should be aware that email and email attachments received or prepared for use in board business or containing information relating to board business are likely to be regarded as public records which may be inspected by any person upon request, unless otherwise made confidential by law.

C. Board members shall avoid reference to confidential information about employees, students or other matters in email communications because of the risk of improper disclosure. Board members should comply with the same standards as school employees with regard to confidential information.

Legal Reference: 1 MRSA § 401 et seq.

20-A MRSA § 6001-6002

20 USC § 1232g

Cross Reference: GBJ - Personnel Records

JRA - Student Educational Records

Adopted: June 14, 2010