The Founding Fathers set principles for which to govern this country. Police officers follow statutes written in the Criminal Procedure Guide and Office Field Manual. Schools have regulations described in the attorney general's School Violence Prevention and Student Discipline Manual.
These mandates and guidelines protect not only the enforcers, but are also designed to protect the rights of the citizens under those laws and regulations. And as time changes, the rules must too.
 Montrose High School assistant principal Scott Brown sits in his office with confiscated cell phones that he's collected over the course of the week. Brown says that they do ask students to pull up text messages if they believe that student was using the their phone to cheat. (Joel Blocker / Daily Press) Advertisement |
But where is the line drawn between students right to privacy and freedom of speech, and the school's duty to maintain a safe, learning environment for its students and staff?
"Safety is first and foremost. Anytime safety is compromised, you put on the back burner any first amendment laws," said Kathy Lemon, assistant principal of Montrose High School.
Cell phones
Cell phones have become an increasing distraction and disturbance in schools over the past decade. A device that at one time was used mostly by professional adults is now seen in the hands of children.
Columbine Middle School parent Nanci Beckman-Herr said she bought her 13-year-old son a cell phone so he could contact her when he needs a ride or let her know what his plans are after school.
To parents, cell phones are a useful tool. But students have also found them useful beyond the realms of talking. At school, cell phones have become a modern-day note-passing device because of text messages, and camera phones have become a useful cheating method.
"Cheating, plagiarism issues ... with their cell phones, they text each other about their tests, they took pictures of tests and sent them. So, as those things begin to surface and we began to realize and know that was happening, that is when we band," Lemon said.
Each school in Montrose County School District Re-1J has their own policy on electronic devices, but all have the same idea — when the first bell rings, electronic devices shouldn't be heard, seen or detected. If they are, they are confiscated.
"What we try to do is protect the safety and the integrity of the school environment, and still allow students to have those. So basically the cell phones, they can bring with them, but we can't see them in the classroom," MHS Principal Jill Myers said.
The rules are posed around MHS and in the student handbook.
But what the rules don't state is if teachers and administrators have the right to search that cell phone when it has been confiscated.
Beckman-Herr says no, cell phones are private property and students should have privacy rights even when in school.
"I don't see why that's any of their business. If I was at work, I wouldn't expect by boss to look through my phone," she said. She said if students are using them at school, they should be confiscated. But if administrators are looking at what's on the cell phone while it's in their possession, that is "overstepping the boundaries."
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado supported the rights of students in an October letter to the Boulder Valley School District Board of Education. The letter stated, "Monarch administrators have been unjustifiably violating students' right of privacy by unreasonably confiscating their cell phones and reading and transcribing students' text messages." The letter asked the board to take action to resolve the situation.
ACLU sent out the letter after conducting several interviews with students and parents.
Columbine parent Renee Gifford said students' rights don't disappear when they enter school doors.
"I don't even look at (my son's) cell phone — it's privacy. If he gives me a reason to, then I would," she said.
This is the direction some administrators are going.
Vice principal at Centennial Middle School, Joseph Simo, said he searches every cell phone that is on at the time of confiscation. He's never found any illegal behavior, but says he checks to see whom the student is texting and if they are using it to cheat — which permits a harsher punishment.
MHS assistant principal Scott Brown, who shares disciplinary duties with Lemon, says they don't search cell phones. Both said they might ask the student to pull up message to prove they weren't texting or have parents look at the messages.
The Boulder Valley incident stemmed from suspicion that a student was smoking on school grounds. Phones were searched as part of an interrogation process to find evidence of the incident.
But the process in which school obtain their evidence, is where conflicting options arise and rules are unclear.
The World Wide Web
Internet is available to students at school, but is used for education purposes. To aid in this measure, schools have set up filters that block out personal e-mail sites and pages, such as MySpace.
MySpace.com is a networking and communication Web site. Users are supposed to be 14 years old to register. They can then design their own page, add music, movies and pictures. They can have their own blog and communicate with friends.
It's an ever-growing site among youth and adults with currently more than 200 million profiles. Flocks of students can be seen checking their mail and chatting with their friends on their MySpace accounts at the Montrose Regional Library after school.
But over the last several years, students around the county been suspended from school for material they post on their sites.
Though this behavior takes place off campus, school rules state that any activity off campus that negatively influences the environment of the school is subject to discipline.
But where is the line between a student's First Amendment right of freedom of speech, and a school's obligation to maintain the health, safe school environment.
MHS administrators find the line simple — if there is a threat to the safety of another person, then action should be taken. If cyber bullying is taking place over the Internet, it should be treated like any other incident of bullying. But that's really the only conditions in which action should be taken, Lemon, Brown and Myers said.
In Feb. 2006, Littleton High School junior Bryan Lopez was suspended from school for 10 days after posting satirical commentary about the school on the Internet, according to the ACLU.
The message talked about the poor physical condition of the school, the behavior and demographics of the students and staff, perceived racial biases of teachers and administrators and the poor quality of resources available to students.
The material was not accessible by students at school because of filters.
After the student received legal council, and backing from the ACLU legal director, school resolved the controversy and allowed the student to return to school.
Lemon said in this incident, school officials got "a little carried away," and that MHS would not have taken disciplinary measures.
"Students need to understand whatever they post ... once it is online, it's pretty much public property. They need to think about if they would want their grandma reading the things they are posting," said Mike Hiestand, attorney and legal consultant to Student Press Law Center.
He said courts are currently struggling where lines are drawn. But courts have been supporting schools if they can prove the material posted has a direct or foreseeable impact on campus.
"If they think there is criminal activity taking place, there are things they can do and procedures to follow. They need to go through the proper channels," Hiestand said. "(Schools) need to have these rules in place and school officials need to know they are accountable for those rules."
Drawing a fine line
When it comes down to the line between students’ rights and school obligations to provide a safe, learning environment, it's not black and white, said Police Chief Tom Chinn.
"If it was a bully, or if it is something specifically mentioned in our policy, threatening, then we would do those proper protocols, assessments, and then law enforcement," district spokeswoman Linda Gann said.
School Board President Nancy Fishering agreed, saying the board doesn't currently have policies on searching cell phones or disciplining student because of material they post on their personal Web pages.
She said when things do arise and there isn't policy, the board will educate themselves on the topic, possibly looking at how courts handled similar situation.
But when it comes down to where the line is between student's rights and the rights of the school, as Chinn said, "There's not just a blanket answer."
Contact Kati O'Hare via e-mail at katio@montrosepress.com
Mary wrote on Aug 26, 2009 6:49 AM: