Social Media Policy

Social Media Guidelines

Santa Clara Unified School District serves over 15,500 TK-12 grade students, in addition to students in preschool through adult school. Neighborhoods in the Cities of Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, San José, and Cupertino comprise the district's 56 square-mile area. Santa Clara Unified prides itself on having teachers, classified employees and administrators who are dedicated, experienced professionals who care about each student's well-being and academic preparation.

The purpose of Santa Clara Unified's Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube pages is for us to share news and information about SCUSD and public education in our district. We welcome and encourage the community’s contributions to our social media in the form of comments, photo tagging, shares, etc. SCUSD's Facebook page is a moderated online discussion site and not a public forum.

SCUSD abides by each platform's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, and asks our community to do the same. SCUSD reserves the right, but is not obligated to remove comments and images that:

• are defamatory, discriminatory, harassing, bullying, intimidating, hateful, libelous, slanderous or may be considered hostile;
• are obscene, pornographic, contain nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence;
• contain proprietary or unauthorized commercial solicitations, such as spam or include links to other sites;
• are clearly off topic;
• advocate illegal activity or are misleading;
• infringe on copyrights or trademarks.

Please note that the comments expressed on this site do not reflect the official opinions and position of Santa Clara Unified, Santa Clara Unified's Superintendent, or Santa Clara Unified's Board of Trustees.

Student Media Releases

SCUSD values the privacy and safety of all students while celebrating the achievements and experiences of our school community. The following guidelines outline how student images, video, and other media may be used in district communications and publications:

Students with Exceptional Needs or Experiencing Homelessness

In accordance with privacy protections, no media featuring students with exceptional needs or students experiencing homelessness will be released without prior written consent from a parent or legal guardian.

Public Events

A public event is any school or district activity that is open to the general public. Examples include but are not limited to athletic events, graduations, board meetings, and community celebrations.
Public events are open to photography and videography. Students, families, staff, and community members attending public events may be photographed or recorded by SCUSD, and these images may be used in district publications, on social media, or in other district communication platforms.

Media Release Opt-Out

All students are considered to have media release permission by default, unless a parent or guardian specifically denies consent through the district’s Media Release Form. The student media release form is completed on initial enrollment in SCUSD and then annually through the Annual Student Information Update (ASIU).

SCUSD is committed to using student images and stories respectfully and to highlighting the diverse strengths, talents, and achievements across our school community.