York County

Social Media Terms of Use:

The York County School Division social media accounts are provided for the community by the YCSD Community and Public Relations Office, the Superintendent and School Board members. Additionally, official school social media accounts may have been established by each school, or staff member. The goal is to provide timely, relevant and accurate information about the division and to share the achievements of our students and staff. Guidelines have been established to ensure effective and open conversation.

All comments posted on the division's social media accounts, including any school social media accounts, school board member accounts and those of the Superintendent, are reviewed by the individual account administrator(s) to ensure that the comments posted adhere to the YCSD Social Media Terms of Use. Please note, that these accounts are limited in scope to conveying accurate information about the division and to share achievements of staff and students. Such moderated discussion accounts are not open public forums for the discussion of any and all subjects. Informational announcements likely to garner numerous questions and comments that are beyond the scope of the staff managing the social media accounts may disallow any comment and instead provide for public comment opportunities through the division's Let's Talk platform.

Further, while the division recognizes individual's rights to share differing opinions and viewpoints, YCSD must also protect the rights of YCSD staff and students in a respectful manner. Although YCSD does not discriminate against any views, we do reserve the right to hide and/or delete any comments of the following nature:

-- Comments that may jeopardize the safety and well-being of a student or staff member. We ask all users to refrain from posting "place and time" information about our students and staff.
-- Comments that threaten or defame any person or organization, or that violate privacy laws.
-- Comments that are violent, vulgar, obscene, profane, hateful, or racist.
-- Comments deemed to be spam ( repeated postings of the same or similar comment) or attempts to advertise/promote organizations, businesses, services or products not affiliated with the school division.
-- Comments that contain misleading or false information and fuel rumors. If you don't know it's a fact, don't post it. (An example would be the post: "I heard school will be dismissed at 11 " YCSD will post school closing information as soon as a decision is made.)
-- Comments from what appear to be fake accounts.
-- Comments that reference specific or ongoing confidential student and/or personnel matters.
-- Comments that suggest or encourage illegal activity.
-- Comments that infringe on copyrights or trademarks.
-- Comments not related to the original post are considered off topic. Comments to any particular post should be germane to that post. Commenters who wish to offer input on school system matters not addressed on our social media accounts are encouraged to contact the school or central office administration, as appropriate, or to sign up to offer public comment at a regular business meeting of the York County School Board.
-- Comments including phone numbers, email addresses, residential addresses, or similar information.
-- Comments that do not comport with reasonable standards of civility and decorum for our young audience (see below)

Repeat violations of these Terms of Use may result in the account being blocked/banned for a minimum of 90 days. Subsequent violations may result in the account being blocked for additional time periods applied in a progressive manner.

Civility and Decorum

Comments that do not meet reasonable standards of civility or decorum may be hidden or removed. Commenters are reminded that York County School Division social media accounts are part of a public school system website and that students - most of whom are impressionable minors - are one of its main intended audiences. Students check the YCSD social media accounts frequently for important information about school events and activities and should not be exposed to comments that are likely to cause them emotional distress or that would be inappropriate in the school environment.

The social media administrators will review all postings to make sure they do not run afoul of the rules nor of the division's Acceptable Use Policy regarding Internet access and practices. Comments posted by other users reflect those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the York County School Division. Additionally, each post's comment section may be revised, turned off, or restricted as needed - in order to maintain an informative and friendly environment for the YCSD community.

Your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to appropriately manage all communication responsibilities, we intend to review and post comments from 8 - 5 on regularly scheduled business days. We intend to review and post comments submitted at other times as soon as possible or on the next business day.

Any student or staff specific concerns should be reported directly to the division or school rather than posted as a comment. YCSD students, parents, staff, and community members have several ways to report any concern:

-- tell a trusted adult
-- call the YCSD Hotline at 757-890-5000
-- report it online at
-- report it on the YCSD App
-- contact us a

We reserve the right to amend our Social Media Terms of Use at any time without notice.