Long Island School District Terminates X Account Over 'Lies' And 'Disruptive Comments'

PATCHOGUE, NY — Patchogue-Medford officials have terminated the school district's social media account on X after "hateful" posts and "disinformation" concerning the district's policy relating to President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration enforcement in schools, and other "substantially disruptive" comments, a district spokesperson said.

The Board of Education announced the end of the account in a letter to the community posted to the district's website, but there were no details about the nature of the comments.

When asked for more details about the comments on Wednesday, the district's spokesperson told Patch in an email that they contained "personal attacks towards [Superintendent Donna Jones] and staff members, lies, and disinformation claiming the district intends to break the law relative to executive orders concerning immigration, and other comments substantially disruptive to district operations and in clear violation of the district's policy."

The "hateful comments" and "disinformation significantly violated the district's social media commenting policy," she said.

She declined to go into specifics about the comments, saying instead that "the district does not intend to repeat the exact harmful wording of the hateful comments and disinformation."

When prompted last week to discuss district's policy on President Donald Trump's executive order paving the way for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to access schools, the spokesperson said that the district's staffers would not "authorize" law enforcement officers unless the access is related to a crime on school grounds or is pursuant to a court order or warrant.

"Consistent with New York State law and guidance, federal law, and district policy, the district does not authorize law enforcement agencies to access school grounds for the purpose of detaining, arresting, or questioning unless such access is related to an alleged crime occurring on school grounds, or pursuant to a warrant or a court order," the district said in its statement. "To the extent such a request to enter school grounds is made, the district requests that proper legal documentation be made available so that the district's legal counsel can evaluate whether such a request is lawful and appropriate for district compliance."

The district has provided protocols and guidelines to administrators at all of its schools regarding how to proceed if a federal agency officer arrives at a school and staff are continuing discussions as additional information becomes available, according to the statement.

In their letter to the community regarding the termination of the X account, the district's Board of Education said its "primary purpose" was "to establish policies governing the operations of a school district."

"The Patchogue-Medford [Union Free School District] Board of Education is committed to providing an orderly, respectful environment that is conducive to learning," the statement read. "To maintain a proper learning environment, it is necessary for members of the public to exhibit appropriate conduct on school property, at school functions and via school social media sites."

Conduct that disrupts school programs, classes, or other school activities is prohibited, according to the board.

"To that end, the board established Policy 4430 'Social Networking Sites' to govern the district’s use of various social networking sites to prevent conduct which is substantially disruptive to the operations of the district," the statement reads.

"As many of you know, recent posts on the district’s 'X' (formerly Twitter) account have been inconsistent with the board’s commitment," the board continued. "Comment sections under district posts have been streaming with hateful, ignorant comments directed at our superintendent and staff, primarily from accounts that do not appear to be from Patchogue-Medford families."

"Lies and disinformation concerning the district’s intentions to break the law cannot be permitted to continue unchallenged," the board wrote. "Recent changes to the 'X' platform, prohibit the removal of this type of content as required by Board Policy 4430. As such, consistent with Board Policy 4430, the Board of Education passed a resolution on Jan. 30 directing that the district’s use of 'X' be terminated immediately and the district’s 'X' account be deactivated."

"As always, we remain committed to taking action as necessary to maintain order and prevent disruption to the operations of the district and protect our students and staff," the board concluded.