School Coughs Up $70k In Damages For Invading 13 Year Old's Social Media Space

from the everwhere-is-the-campus? dept

A couple of years ago, Tim Cushing wrote up the story of a Minnesota student who was forced to give her social media passwords to a school so they could snoop through her off-campus life and develop a couple of life-lessons for her. Those life lessons appeared to have essentially amounted to recognizing that school administrators too often see themselves as parents and they think students' free speech rights end where an administrator's interest in his/her students' lives begin. Fortunately, a judge disabused them of their misconceptions, stating in no uncertain terms that forcing a student to give up their social media passwords is a violation of the First Amendment. Common sense, how little we see of ye.

And now, to bring some closure to this story, the school is coughing up $70,000 in damages and rewriting their policies to prevent further abuse.

Minnewaska Area Schools agreed to pay $70,000 in damages and rewrite its policies to limit how intrusive the school can be when searching a student’s e-mails and social media accounts created off school grounds. The federal court settlement comes just after Rogers High School senior Reid Sagehorn, a 17-year-old honor student and football captain, was suspended for seven weeks for a two-word Internet posting in a case that created a community uproar.

“A lot of schools, like the folks at Minnewaska, think that just because it’s easier to know what kids are saying off campus through social media somehow means the rules have changed, and you can punish them for what they say off campus,” said attorney Wallace Hilke, who helped lead Riley’s case from the Minnesota branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.
While it would be quite easy to see the restitution as an "all good" ending to this story, the article unfortunately then goes on to quote Minnewaska school district administrators who still can't seem to wrap their heads around the idea that it isn't their job to police students' off-campus behavior. Chief amongst them is Greg Schmidt, Superintendent, who wasn't in that position when the snooping occurred but did work on the settlement.
“Some people think schools go too far and I get that,” Schmidt said. “But we want to make kids aware that their actions outside school can be detrimental.”
Unfortunately for Mr. Schmidt, the general public doesn't much care that he wants to teach kids all kinds of lessons about their personal lives. That isn't a public school's role, never has been, and never should be. Parents parent and schools...er, school? Regardless, getting involved in students' private lives is a gross misstep. The student's mother agrees.
“They never once told me they were going to bring her into the room and demand her Facebook password,” Sandra said. “I’m hoping schools kind of leave these things alone so parents can punish their own kids for things that happen off school grounds.”.
Hope? Hope!?! How about demand? While the new rules crafted by the district limit school's from looking into social media exchanges unless there's a "reasonable suspicion" they will find actions or speech that violates school rules, how quickly do you think we'll hear a story about that leeway being abused? It's high time for parents to insist that they be allowed to parent their own children and for schools to focus on teaching academics, rather than life lessons.

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Filed Under: damages, parenting, schools, social media


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  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:11am

    doesn't work...

    Until the guilty teacher(s) or administration official(s) goes to jail for intimating a person under color of authority.

    People in power not going to jail or being publicly shamed AND removed from power is the only way to reasonably mitigate this crap.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:13am

      Re: doesn't work...

      Man... the word "not" should not be in that last sentence... sorry!

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Coogan (profile), 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:19am

    “Some people think schools go too far and I get that,” Schmidt said. “But we want to make kids aware that their actions outside school can be detrimental.”

    Parents need to make school officials aware that their actions inside the school can likewise be detrimental. I doubt it ever occurred to Schmidt that he was ignoring the very "lesson" he was trying to teach.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Baldaur Regis (profile), 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:27am

    They WERE teaching those kids a life-lesson...

    ...just not the one they thought they were teaching.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Glen, 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:28am

    What really sucks is the taxpayers foot the bill not the officials that decided to proceed with this policy.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      That One Guy (profile), 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:38am

      Re:

      Yeah, if they really want that lesson to stick, then that $70K needs to come from the pay of every single teacher, and every administrator, that was involved, not the school itself, as that completely ignores the guilty parties, and instead hurts the other students.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:41am

        Re: Re:

        1. The teacher's unions would never stand for that.
        2. The teachers and administrators involved would simply leave to take a job in a different school district to escape paying the money.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:57am

          Re: Re: Re:

          2. That would only work if the school wanted to charge them for the money. I think the suggestion is that the COURTS find the individuals liable instead of the school.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        John Fenderson (profile), 27 Mar 2014 @ 12:48pm

        Re: Re:

        It should come from the school system itself. Otherwise there is zero incentive for the school system to do anything to ensure that this problem is fixed.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        LookingOverMyShoulder, 15 Apr 2014 @ 12:51pm

        Re: Re:

        I agree, until these fines & judgements start coming from the perp's pockets, it will have no effect on their behavior. After all if I get a judgement against me in civil court no government entity pays it for me.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:43am

      Re:

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:57am

        Re: Re:

        Sorry, comment got lost, it was:

        The tax payers picking up th bills suck, but do the damages cover the families legal bills, or have they won a somewhat pyrrhic victory?

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:53am

      Re:

      was the school board elected by these same tax payers?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Anonymous Coward, 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:30am

    Questions

    While the new rules crafted by the district limit school's from looking into social media exchanges unless there's a "reasonable suspicion" they will find actions or speech that violates school rules...

    What if the 'school rules' violate the First Amendment?

    What is the definition of "reasonable suspicion" in their eyes?

    Why do institutions feel they are above the law, and not report crimes to authorities claiming to adjudicate things themselves? Churches, Universities, some large companies all think internal investigations are sufficient, resulting in at least the unreported rapes on college campuses and the Catholic Churches debacle with priests and children, and the failure of the banks, just for starters.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:55am

      Re: Questions

      Why do institutions feel they are above the law, and not report crimes to authorities claiming to adjudicate things themselves?

      Because authoritarians will not acknowledge that anybody has power over them, whilst at the same time claiming power over others. This leads to a state of anarchy, because they claim a right they will not grant others, and they fall to fighting amongst themselves to see who can come out on top.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Zonker, 27 Mar 2014 @ 4:05pm

      Re: Questions

      School rules aren't applicable outside of school, just like US law isn't applicable outside of the US... oh wait.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 28 Mar 2014 @ 2:55am

      Re: Questions

      Q: What is the definition of "reasonable suspicion" in their eyes?
      A: NSA's definition: Being alive.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:34am

    Since the Superintendent wants to “...make kids aware that their actions outside school can be detrimental.” I'm sure that he is instructing ALL principals in his district to call into the office and "instruct" all pregnant teens about that "action".

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:36am

    Policy changes...

    The previous policy which allowed school officials to pressure students into releasing access to their private social media accounts will now be replaced with a series of zero tolerance policies which will require involving local law enforcement who will then obtain access to the social media accounts absolving the school district of responsibility for such violations.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    John Fenderson (profile), 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:50am

    Weird equivalency

    “Some people think schools go too far and I get that,” Schmidt said. “But we want to make kids aware that their actions outside school can be detrimental.”


    So in their minds "making aware of" and "punishing" are the same thing? I think someone needs a remedial logic class.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Wallyb132 (profile), 27 Mar 2014 @ 11:58am

    A little confused...

    Tim, I'm a little confused here, are you talking about 2 different stories here or was she captain of the football team?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Dark Helmet (profile), 27 Mar 2014 @ 12:03pm

      Re: A little confused...

      There are two students' stories in this, the first is a young girl covered in Other-Tim's original article (linked in the opening) while the article I found for this piece mentioned a second student having just been victimized....

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Ninja (profile), 27 Mar 2014 @ 12:11pm

    I missed the part where the ones involved directly in the situation lose their jobs and are forced to pay for psychological damages...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Hold on a sec, 27 Mar 2014 @ 12:13pm

    Unfortunately for Mr. Schmidt, the general public doesn't much care that he wants to teach kids all kinds of lessons about their personal lives. That isn't a public school's role, never has been, and never should be. Parents parent and schools...er, school? Regardless, getting involved in students' private lives is a gross misstep.


    This is going a bit far. I'd say acculturation is one of the main purposes of school, and part of that is learning how to deal with your "personal life." Kids spend a ton of time at school, and teachers do plenty of what you're calling parenting. I don't think you can avoid it. Yes, in this case the district went too far, but it's a matter of degree. Finding the right spots to intervene is what makes a good teacher.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      John Fenderson (profile), 27 Mar 2014 @ 12:51pm

      Re:

      True. But this is part of a larger, terrible, pattern of schools increasingly monitoring and punishing students for activities that don't take place on school property or using school resources. There should be a clear, bright line prohibiting this sort of behavior on the part of the schools.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 27 Mar 2014 @ 2:09pm

        Re: Re:

        Imagine all the stupid "zero tolerance" rules being applied to social media posts not connected with the school. Facebook post showing Timmy pretending his finger is the barrel of gun? Expelled immediately!

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 27 Mar 2014 @ 12:54pm

      Re:

      BS. This is the same attitude that is being displayed for zero tolerance when it comes to finger guns getting students expelled. You can't have it both ways.

      Either this is a free country or it is not. Right now it is anything but free for the individual with all this presumption that it is ok to access private effects because the school administration some how is really sensitive to it's reputation as viewed by the public. This is exactly the same lesson being shown citizens from our government officials going all the way to the top.

      It is also precisely what news is supposed to be about, is pulling in the excesses and exposing them for what they are.

      I'd also like to point out that these schools can no longer administer corporal punishment precisely because parents object to it. This is a point of being far over the line in regards to the schools actions. When kids are off the school property what they do is not the schools concern unless it is a school sponsored event.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Gracey (profile), 27 Mar 2014 @ 12:52pm

    Personally, as a parent, I'd be telling my children NOT to divulge their passwords for ANY account to anyone.

    If the teacher asks, the student should refer the teacher to the parent, who can then refer the teacher to their lawyer.

    Unless of course the "child" is 18 or over. Then they make their own choice.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 27 Mar 2014 @ 2:27pm

      Re:

      When/if I have kids, I'll go further, teach them one mantra if they are brought into any administrator's office: "Can you please call my Mom and Dad? I want them here." Repeat until one of us arrives, say nothing else. They want to question or discipline my child, they will do so in my presence.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      John Fenderson (profile), 27 Mar 2014 @ 3:23pm

      Re:

      The funny thing is that this is best practice in any setting. For example, in my workplace, it is a firing offense for me to divulge my passwords to anybody at all, under any circumstances. Period. End of story. I can't even tell the system administrators.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        hunter2, 3 Apr 2014 @ 11:44am

        Re: Re:

        Its OK you can type your password here. Its automatically shown as stars.

        ********* see.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 28 Mar 2014 @ 1:16am

      Re:

      If the teacher asks, the student should refer the teacher to the parent, who can then refer the teacher to their lawyer.

      So that what all this zero tolerance is about, creating work for lawyers!!!
      (Something has gone badly wrong in a society when you suggestion actually seems reasonable.)

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Mar 2014 @ 1:02pm

    School Rules

    "... the new rules crafted by the district limit school's from looking into social media exchanges unless there's a 'reasonable suspicion' they will find actions or speech that violates school rules ..."

    The problem is that actions and speech that violate school rules when they happen on school grounds or during school activities are not to be considered rule violations outside of that context. The school's authority over student speech ends outside of school grounds and activities, as required by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. The same should be true of student actions: actions that don't significantly involve the school should never be considered rule violations.

    In other words, there's generally no such thing as "actions or speech that violates school rules" when students are not in school.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Geno0wl (profile), 27 Mar 2014 @ 1:29pm

    Everybody wants MORE power. Power to control lives and mold them to "their" vision. You see it at almost every level. Schools, College(free speech zone!), work place(Sally worked 20 hours overtime but you didn't, she is better than you).
    Everybody wants to rule their world...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Groaker (profile), 27 Mar 2014 @ 2:19pm

    While civil suits may provide some relief to the aggrieved child, they do nothing to curb the beliefs and behaviors of the martinets because it does not come out of their pockets.

    As there is no reason to believe that a password would be given up without coercion, such behavior is likely to fall under criminal laws. But it seems unlikely that the criminal code will be applied to these molestations of children.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    That Anonymous Coward (profile), 27 Mar 2014 @ 8:56pm

    So lets start trolling the pages for the board, teachers, & staff for every little thing they do wrong or looks wrong so we can teach them their actions outside of school have effects.

    I'm sure a photo of one of the drinking can be spun into why they might not be a good teacher or shouldn't be around impressionable children.

    If you want to play the over reach game, lets make it a 2 way street.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Groaker (profile), 3 Apr 2014 @ 1:41pm

    Education

    Too many schools are being run by martinets who are power hungry. They are far more interested in control over the lives of the students than they are in the education of these children. One SCOTUS judge said that Constitutional rights don't end at the school door. Too many teachers and administrators need to learn that their control ends at the other side of that door.

    The failings of US education are plain to see. According to the triennial international comparisons, US students rank 29th in Math and 22 in Science. This is below Estonia, and between Lithuania and the Slovak Republic. Teachers need to return to teaching, not "playing spy."

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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