All Gettysburg Area School District social media accounts shall operate as either a non-public forum (where the public may not comment on the District’s posts), or as a limited public forum, where the public may comment publicly on the District’s posts – subject to certain guidelines. Whether a social media account is operated as a non-public forum or limited public forum shall be determined by the account operator. 

Gettysburg Area School District social media accounts that operate as a limited public forum shall include a prominent link to the following comment guidelines, posted on the School District’s website:

• Contain obscene, indecent, or profane language;
• Contain threats or defamatory statements;
• Contain personal attacks or insulting statements directed toward an individual;
• Contain hate speech directed at race, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, religion, or disability;
• Promote or endorse services or products including political parties or candidates;
• Are unrelated to the topic being discussed;
• Are repetitive or “spamming” in nature (same or similar comment/topic posted multiple times).

Individual comments or posts that violate the above guidelines may be deleted (if possible given the social media platform) without further notice.  Posts may not be deleted simply because they are critical of the Gettysburg Area School District, or because they promote an unpopular opinion, if the post otherwise complies with the above guidelines. 

Gettysburg Area School District social media account operators may not block users from accessing the Gettysburg Area School District’s social media posts.  The Communications Coordinator shall refer any user who repeatedly violates the above guidelines to the Superintendent for further investigation and potential legal remedies.