The Sixth Circuit ruled that a school district violated an out-of-district student’s due process rights when it removed him from school without providing him with a pre-expulsion hearing, and violated his search and seizure rights when a school administrator viewed text messages on his cell phone that had been properly confiscated.
Continue reading...A federal district court magistrate in Texas has concluded that a student has stated a valid Fourth Amendment claim against an associate principal who searched the contents of her cell phone after confiscating it on suspicion that the student was using the phone in violation of school district policy. As a result, the magistrate recommended that the associate principal’s motion for summary judgment on the claim, based on qualified immunity, be denied. The magistrate did recommend, however, granting the summary judgment motions of the principal and the school district on the Fourth Amendment claim.
Continue reading...DeSoto County School District (DSCSD) has agreed to settle a suit over the search of the contents of a middle school student’s cell phone that had been confiscated by school officials for violation of the school district’s cell phone policy, reports the Associated Press (AP) in the Clarion Ledger. The suit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi (ACLU-MS) on behalf of the student after he was expelled on the grounds the phone contained gang images. As part of the settlement, DSCSD agreed to make a list of prohibited gang signs available at school offices and on its website.
Continue reading...A federal district court in Mississippi has ruled that school officials did not violate a student’s Fourth Amendment search and seizure rights when they searched the contents of student’s cell phone after confiscating it pursuant to school district policy prohibiting the possession and use of cell phones at school. It concluded that the individual officials were entitled to qualified immunity from the student’s Fourth Amendment claim. However, the district court ruled that the student had stated a valid due process claim against the school for the disciplinary measures against him based on what was found on the phone during the search.
Continue reading...According to an Associated Press report in Education Week, Virginia’s Attorney General (AG) Ken Cuccinelli has issued an advisory opinion stating that seizures and searches of students’ cell phones and laptops by school officials are constitutionally justified if officials have reasonable grounds to suspect that a student has violated school rules or the law. The supervision and operation of schools present ‘special needs’ beyond normal law enforcement and, therefore, a different framework is justified,” Cuccinelli wrote, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a New Jersey case. He also said that any sexually explicit material involving a minor discovered during such searches should be shared only with law enforcement. Such material should not be shared with other school personnel.
Continue reading...According to Scranton Times-Tribune, Tunkhannock Area School District (TASD) (through its insurer) has agreed to paid $33,000 to settle a suit that stemmed from a “sexting” incident. The suit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU-PA) on a behalf a high school student identified as N.N. The suit alleged that the school district illegally searched her cell phone, punished her for storing semi-nude pictures of herself on the device, and then referred her case to the Wyoming County district attorney’s office. Under the settlement, the school district denied any liability or wrongdoing but agreed to pay the student and her lawyers to resolve the dispute.
Continue reading...KOMO News reports that Oak Harbor School District (OHSD) is proposing a policy that would allow school officials to search students’ cell phones. OHSD believes the policy is necessary in order for the district to comply with recent state legislation requiring school districts to toughen up on cyber bullying and sexting. The policy would allow school administrators to review anything in a student’s cell phone, including text messages, pictures, and videos.
Continue reading...According to a Dallas Morning News report in the Denton Record-Chronicle, the parent of a MacArthur High School student claims that school officials violated his daughter’s constitutional rights when they took her cellphone and read her text messages. Officials contend that they had probable cause to search the student’s cellphone because of suspected criminal activity.
Continue reading...CBSNEWS reports that a bill has passed the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee that would limit the punishment for “sexting” (the practice in which adolescents forward sexually explicit images of themselves or their peers via text message). The bill is in responses to several prosecutions of Pennsylvanis teens under child pornography laws.
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