Slog

News & Arts

Line Out

Music & the City
at Night

« Scott Brown Is in Washington State… | Mayor’s Office Angry Over $40… »

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

News ACLU Calls School Sexting Policy Invasion of Privacy

Posted by Riya Bhattacharjee on Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 9:29 AM

ACLU

The ACLU of Washington has lashed out at the Oak Harbor School District for a sexting policy which it says is going too far. The ACLU contends that allowing school administrators to search students' cell phones without their or their parents' permission to prevent sexting is a violation of privacy. The school district has defended its actions, saying that the rules were crafted to prevent cyber-bullying and has already been adopted by other schools.

But ACLU Technology and Liberty Project director Brian Alseth wrote in a letter to the district superintendent, “The proposed policy is overly broad... Searching telecommunication devices impinges on student privacy significantly more than a traditional backpack or locker search. Cell phones store a virtually limitless amount of highly personal information dating back months or years." The group argues that administrators could determine a student’s political views, poke into their personal relationships, investigate their parents personal relationships, find out if the student is pregnant, or discover other private details that aren't the school's business.

The ACLU recommended that the district restrict its phone-search policy to cases where officials have reasonable suspicion that a phone contains illegal content and then turn the device over to law enforcement. Law enforcement officials could then get a search warrant if there is probable cause.

Comments (12) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

I know this makes me an old-ass fogey, but why are cell phones allowed in schools? If I were a teacher and a kid pulled out a PHONE in my classroom I'd go apeshit.

Posted by hillpagan on August 31, 2010 at 9:38 AM

Wonderful. We've legitimized consumption of child porn.

Way to go.

Posted by maxbell on August 31, 2010 at 9:41 AM

Simple solution: ban cell phones at schools. Immediate confiscation upon discovery. Problem solved.

Posted by lrb on August 31, 2010 at 9:45 AM

I'm with #1 the cell phones don't belong in class whatsoever. They should be turned off and stored in the childs purse, bag or backpack. The kids can turn them on as soon as the bell rings at the end of the school day.

Posted by MsDmode on August 31, 2010 at 10:00 AM

Remember calling from a pay phone to tell your parents you were staying after school for an activity or going to the library or whatever? Then calling from a pay phone to have them pick you up? The pay phone's not there anymore. Kids today use a cell and most likely txt.

Cell phones are part of life. Deal with it.

Posted by kathygnome on August 31, 2010 at 10:17 AM

I know in the school my mom teaches at students aren't allowed to have their phones out in class, taking it out in class leads to confiscation and detention if it happens repeatedly. However they can have them out during lunch, in the hall between classes, and after school lets out. Students don't teleport from one class to another so they do have time other than in class during the school day.

Posted by Noadi

on August 31, 2010 at 10:17 AM

In our school district the schools do nothing if the texts indicates they were sent outside of classroom instructional time. My child was a victim of cyberbulling, in our case the abusive texts revealed that they were sent during instructional time and the students involved did have their phones taken from them. General policy is phones, iPods, etc. are turned off and put away in classrooms.

Posted by kim in portland

on August 31, 2010 at 10:39 AM

This is why anyone with a cellphone, should have a lock on it. The part that stopped me cold was "without their or THEIR PARENTS' permission." This means, that even if you as a parent want to respect your child's privacy, the school doesn't care. School administrators are people too, and can be petty and vengeful if what they find is not sexting, but some teen talking trash about the principal, or whatever. When my son is old enough, his phone will have a digital lock. Just because people are young, doesn't mean they have no right to privacy.

Posted by Purocuyu

on August 31, 2010 at 10:40 AM

Yes, it seems like the better thing is to ban the use of cell phones in class rooms. If the rule is broken, confiscate them and return them at the end of the day. Teachers & administers meddling in this kind of activity is just going to cause many more problems than it is likely to solve.

Posted by carrma on August 31, 2010 at 11:15 AM

It isn't necessary to send your child to an institution where bullying and harassment are so commonplace and such Draconian searches are seen as unavoidable.

Posted by elenchos on August 31, 2010 at 11:42 AM

First, there has to be a safe place where students can leave their phones if the school is unwilling to follow an "innocent until proven guilty" policy regarding students posession of cellphones on school property. In this safe place, the students right to privacy should be respected, and the cell phones not searched while in school posession. The school should also provide alternate means for students to contact their guardians while on school property. No pay phone? Then either bring payphones back, or make more phones available for students to use for this purpose.

As for sexting laws? fucking ridiculous! Making criminals (yes, they are required to register as sex offenders if caught doing this) out of otherwise innocent people is fucking bullshit! Yes, the kids should know better, but if they are not posting it for public consumption, then there is no reason to make criminals out of these kids!

School officials violating students rights to privacy by snooping through their phones should be fired! Schools are government run institutions, does these institutions willful violation of civil rights not create disrespect for ALL government institutions?

Posted by Tingleyfeeln on August 31, 2010 at 12:54 PM

@10- Most people can't afford a private school with an ideology thet matches their own, and most people can't afford one parent staying home to home school. Got any other (viable, realistic) alternatives? I would LOVE to take my kid out of Seattle's failing public schools.

Posted by One income family on September 1, 2010 at 11:45 AM