Social Media

The purpose of the Wentzville School District’s social media accounts is to share information with our community and facilitate two-way communication centered around the District.

The WSD expects that participants will treat each other, as well as our District, our employees, and our students with respect. Be kind. Be smart. Be human. Add to the discussion, and help grow our community in constructive ways!

Please note that District social media platforms are not intended to operate as a traditional public forum. Comments are subject to the guidelines contained herein. 

The WSD retains the right to review comments on all its social media platforms and, although the District does not discriminate based on viewpoint, it may remove comments and restrict access to users for violating the applicable social media platform’s community standards or for posting comments that are:

• Clearly off-topic, spam, or disruptively repetitive. The District will exclude comments that are not related to the subject matter of the particular post, are meant to spam the District’s account, or are otherwise disruptively repetitive.
• Personal attacks. The WSD asks that you refrain from personal attacks or being disrespectful of others. Threatening or abusive language/graphics, including “fighting words”, will not be tolerated.
• Advertising. Comments focused on promoting commercial services, enterprises, or products will not be permitted. Non-commercial links that are relevant to the post or comment are acceptable.
• Political advocacy. Under Missouri law, the WSD is prohibited from using public funds to advocate, support, or oppose the passage or defeat of any ballot measure or the nomination or election of any candidate for public office. The use of the District’s social media platforms for this purpose could be seen as an indirect use of public funds. Accordingly, any comments that would cause the District to be in violation of this law will be removed.
• Unlawful. Laws that govern the use of copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and other intellectual property will be followed, and the misuse of intellectual property through comments will not be permitted. Additionally, the WSD will not allow comments that suggest or encourage illegal activity or behavior.
• Malicious or harmful software. Comments which contain (either directly or through embedded links) malicious or harmful software will not be permitted.
• Inappropriate language. Inappropriate comments will be deleted, including, but not limited to, comments containing: profane or provocative language; hateful, racially, or ethnically offensive or derogatory content; threats; obscenity; or, pornographic content or sexually explicit language.
  Defamation (including Libel or Slander). Blatantly inaccurate information constituting defamation, including libel or slander, will be removed. 

The WSD monitors its social media platforms but is not responsible for content generated by other users on these platforms. The District retains the authority to turn off the public’s ability to comment on any post on its social media platforms at any time. This may occur when the post is made, or at a later time if all the comments on the post are in violation of these guidelines and the violations are continuous. The WSD further reserves the right to delete comments and/or ban users from commenting if these guidelines are not complied with. Any comments that do not follow these guidelines may be removed and the user will be notified of the violation. If a user violates these guidelines three (3) times, then the WSD may block the user from commenting on the page or account. Users who violate these guidelines may also be reported to the applicable social media platform.

A public comment is the opinion of the commentator only. Publication of a public comment does not necessarily imply endorsement of, or agreement by, the District. By making comments, users are speaking as individuals, and their speech does not reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, position, or expression of the WSD. The District reserves the right not to share events submitted to this account for promotion. 

Please be aware that while District staff is responsible for moderating the page, we cannot immediately review every comment posted on a page. Our social media accounts are not monitored 24/7. It is therefore possible for comments to be posted which are in violation of these guidelines and not immediately removed or otherwise addressed. The WSD will use its best efforts to identify and address such comments in a timely manner based on available resources. If you’re in crisis or have an emergency, please call 911. 

All comments related to District business will be considered public records subject to disclosure upon request. Public comments and content should be understood to be public records, and users should not post any public comments that they consider, or would like to keep, confidential. Social media should not be used to make a formal complaint against the District, its employees, or its students; nor shall public comments constitute official legal notice to the District. For official correspondence, please email info@wsdr4.org.

The Wentzville School District reserves the right to modify these guidelines at any time.