A circuit court judge in the state of Missouri has blocked a controversial new state-wide law that attempted to prevent teachers from privately communicating with their underaged students through social media and text messages, responding to a complaint from the state teacher’s union that the law violates their First Amendment rights.

The judge, Jon Beetem, noted in the injunction that social networking is frequently used by educators and is “often the primary, if not sole manner of communication” with their students. He wrote:

“Even if a complete ban on certain forms of communication between certain individuals could be construed as content neutral and only a reasonable restriction on ‘time, place and manner,’ the breadth of the prohibition is staggering.”

The law has been blocked for the next 180 days, which the teacher’s union said will give educators and legislators time to debate a resolution.

The state’s governor, Jay Nixon, has meanwhile asked the legislature to repeal the part of the law aimed at preventing social media communication between teachers and students. In a statement, he said:

“First and foremost, our top concern and priority is and always will be protecting children across Missouri, and making sure students receive the quality education they need and deserve. In a digital world, we must recognize that social media can be an important tool for teaching and learning.  At the same time, we must be vigilant about threats posed to students through the Internet and other means. Because of confusion and concern among educators, students and families over this specific provision of Senate Bill 54, I will ask the General Assembly to repeal that particular section, while preserving other vital protections included in the bill.”

Other provisions of the new law require annual background checks of teachers and ban registered sex offenders from running for or serving on school boards. The rest of the law — which was written in response to a spate of sexual misconduct revelations about state teachers within the past decade — is not being contested by the teacher’s union.