Thank you for posting both articles. This seems like a knee-jerk reaction to one of a handful of sad situations where a teacher/student relationship over-stepped the boundaries. It should not be made a law, but an ethical standard set by each school on how they want to handle their internal policies.
According to the second article, part of the proposed law states: No teacher shall establish, maintain, or use a nonwork-related internet site which allows exclusive access with a current or former student. Fine. So they can still use text and calls to carry out their illicit intents. In the few cases where a teacher has gotten involved with a student and it has gone to court, the result is essentially the same; any documentation found, be it on the internet or through phone records, will be evidence for the prosecution. If the law gets passed, who is going to monitor all of the social sites? The site owners? I think not.
Should a teacher be banned from communicating privately with a former student? Seriously? Both of my sisters are/were public teachers, and they would not agree with this part at all, and nor do I. Two of my former high school teachers are friends on Facebook, and we have exchanged private messages. I am 48. Would this be unacceptable under Missouri law?