Schools shut down social media access after suicide

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A three-minute video suicide note posted on YouTube by a 16-year-old Louisville high school student who killed herself moments later left school officials scrambling Tuesday to try to protect other students from the ensuing social media frenzy.
The video was posted around 6 p.m. Monday, and by the next day, it had been watched and rewatched more than 10,000 times before it was taken down from YouTube about 4:30 p.m.
Worried officials at Jefferson County Public Schools shut down district network access to Twitter and YouTube on Tuesday morning after learning that students across the district were circulating the video, then restored access about an hour later once they felt they had time to reach out to students at Male High School.
"The safety and security of our students is our No. 1 priority. Jefferson County Public Schools is doing everything possible to support students who are grieving at this time," district spokeswoman Mandy Simpson said in a statement. "We temporarily removed access to Twitter and YouTube this morning. This was an effort to ensure that students who are emotionally impacted could get the help they needed as we worked with officials to address the situation through the most appropriate and efficient channels."
However, the district shutdown didn't prevent students from accessing those sites through their own cellphone service, and the video's views continued to climb throughout the day.
Scott McLeod, founding director of the University Council for Educational Administration's Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education, said it doesn't surprise him that the district shut down access to the social media sites.
"It was likely a way for them to try to let things cool off and minimize the distractions until they could address it appropriately," McLeod said.
But McLeod said he questions the effectiveness of shutting down access to the social media sites during school hours, especially if students are allowed to use their phones during school hours.
"Unless you take away their cellphones, they will find another way to access the information," he said.
Jon Hile, whose daughter is a freshman at Manual, said he believes the school missed an opportunity to discuss the situation with students.
"You can't deny the fact in this age of social media that those kids saw that video," he said. "I think it could have been handled better. Trying to ignore what happened isn't going to help anyone."
Until last year, Jefferson County forbade students from using their phones, music players and computers while on school property or while attending a school-sponsored activity.
But the school board voted in September to allow students to use their cellphones during school hours at a handful of schools that had requested waivers, saying smartphones can be used as educational tools.