Social media is ubiquitous in today's society, and classrooms are not exempt. When social media interrupts education, whether by preventing engagement with the lesson or by creating inappropriate interactions or relationships, policies must be put in place to keep learning the priority. With that caution, though, school districts must be sure to be respectful of the First Amendment rights of teachers, not infringing on their personal freedoms to the point of disenfranchisement. This dissertation examines the 29 existing social media policies in Louisiana's parish public school districts in comparison to the Constitution and landmarks court cases, an expert-reviewed rubric, and the National Education Association's Social Media in Education guidance document to determine if they meet the standard of protecting both students and the rights of teachers. Through doctrinal research and lean coding, the researcher distilled themes found to be most common among the existing policies and combined those with themes found within the guiding principles of free speech and the suggestions of various experts in the fields of law and education to create an sample social media policy that meets the standards and could be used by school districts to write or revise their own policies or for the creation of a state-wide social media policy. While protecting students is paramount, the significance of this study lies in its reach, both actual and potential. These issues are pervasive all across Louisiana, the United States, and the world. It is incumbent upon those who write education policies at any level to ensure that students are protected and the prevent the trampling of teachers' rights. Social media is not going away, so educators have to decide on the best way to coexist with it. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]