Teachers and other school employees in Manitoba will no longer be permitted to communicate privately with students through personal social media accounts, texting or messaging apps that schools cannot monitor.
Manitoba has issued a directive requiring all publicly funded schools and school divisions to revise their digital communication policies, establishing clearer boundaries for how employees interact with students online.
What Types of Communication Are Banned?
Under the new directive, school employees cannot use personal social media accounts, private messaging applications, text messages or messaging features on social networking platforms to communicate with students when those conversations take place on unmonitored platforms.
The directive does not prohibit teachers from communicating with students about schoolwork. Instead, it establishes restrictions on the platforms and methods they can use.
“Teachers have to be able to talk to their students about school. But there should never be a reason to hide that conversation from the eyes of parents or school leaders,” said Tracy Schmidt, Manitoba’s Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning.
Are There Any Exceptions?
Yes. Schools may approve alternative communication arrangements when necessary to support a student’s safety, accessibility, well-being or learning needs.
However, school administration must approve these arrangements in advance, and parents or caregivers must either be included in the communication or informed about it.
Exceptions may also apply when school employees and students have existing family or personal relationships.
What Does This Mean for Parents and Schools?
All publicly funded schools must update their communication guidelines and explain the changes to students, employees and families.
Marisa Roziere, a teacher at J.H. Bruns Collegiate, said the directive establishes clearer expectations about appropriate communication between students and school staff.
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection also supports the changes.
“Reinforcing clear boundaries when communicating online fosters a safe learning environment in which students can thrive,” said Lianna McDonald, the centre’s executive director.
For parents, the changes are intended to make school-related online conversations more transparent while allowing exceptions when students have specific needs.