Call the principle?

[WriterofWords]

Quote:
I do understand but isn't the later a violation of privacy as well?

Any cell phone we collect we can check to see if they have been used during school time. All you have to do is hit "send" and it shows all calls made and received, we can open the text messages to see if any have been sent during school time and pertaining to what. Anymore since cell phones are so prevalent the student can't cry "privacy" if they are found to have a cell phone that is turned on during school time. When they are in multiple classes one of the favorite things to do is take pictures of tests and pass them around to cheat. Unfortunately as mentioned above there is also so many cases of "sexting" going around that one way of trying to curb it is to take the phones and show them to the parents so the parents then know what is going on. Parents tend to have this "NOT MY BABY" attitude and it's a real shock to them when they see the texts their kids are sending and receiving. I teach 6th grade, 3 months ago I took a phone from a student in which they had snuck up on a girl in the restroom and took a very blatant picture of her private areas,, they were then passing it around throughout all of their cell phones. In the texts on that phone were saved pictures of boy's parts,, girls,, sexually explicit talk and photos.
No, it's not a violation of privacy to check the phone of a student that has it on at school.

 

[herfrds]

Ok I am getting a couple of different stories. 2 of the kids that saw what happened I do not trust. I have called the parents of the 3rd and am waiting to hear back from them.
Trying to find some more witnesses.

DS heard that the other kid got just 1 day of after school detention.

 

[OutInTheStiks]

Quote:
I do understand but isn't the later a violation of privacy as well?

Most states and most schools have a policy that anything on school grounds is subject to search and seizure. I teach high school and we make it very clear that cars, lockers, backpacks, purses, cell phones etc are subject to search at anytime.

As cell phones and sexting become more of an issue I expect that there will precedents set by the courts one way or the other as to what is private and what is not.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

My personal opinions here:

If one or one's child is the victim, knowing full details who was involved and how the situation was handled, including the punishments given is my RIGHT. As the parent of some other random student, no, it is not my business, although if a pattern of bullying by one student or a group of students develops, then it becomes the right of every parent to know at least some portions of what is going on.

A teacher should have been on-duty and caught the inappropriate behavior before it escalated.

ALL kids involved in the "keep-away" game should have received some repercussions, and their parents should have been notified THAT DAY.

Not notifying a parent that a child was injured at school opens the district to huge risks of liability. The lack of a reasonable respose from the principal probably opened him up to personal liability.

Cell phones are more and more common as parents use them as a means to contact their kids. My son first had a cell phone so that we could give him more freedom, and yet be able to contact him immediately. My son's high school has a policy of no cell phones used during instruction time. That means they are allowed to use them at lunch and between classes. I cannot say that kids need them during school, but a lot of kids and parents rely on them before and after school. And I have to say that my being able to contact my son during the day (or him contacting me) has been useful on a number of occasions. If a cell phone is confiscated for being used inappropriately (which can mean any use that is against school policy), I have no problem with the teachers and principal looking at the calls and texts and photos. If, as a matter of standard procedure phones are STORED in the principal's office during school hours, and a kid is following that policy, then checking out the data on it is absolutely inappropriate. It isn't much different than a student leaving a note to his or her parent in the office for the parent to pick up, and a school official opening and reading the note.

 

[calicokat]

My son (Jr. in High School) was assaulted at school this year during lunch. The asst. principal saw it and used the word "grizzly" - HE encouraged me to call the police and make an assault report.

But, due to privacy issues, etc. we never were able to find out what punishment the other student received. Our DS was suspended for a week for making a threat prior to the assault. We kinda wanted to know that the other kid had received at least that punishment, but then since he FOLLOWED through on his threat, we felt he should get something more. But never found out.

So don't be suprised if the school will not share details pertaining to the other kid.

 

[redhen]

I'm sorry, but now that i know the whole story..
i think your son may have gotten what he asked for.
Sorry..just my opinion...

 

[WriterofWords]

I know it's frustrating, but as I'm not only a teacher but a parent also, I'm not privy to information such as another child's punishment either. All a school administrator can tell you is that it has been dealt with, punishment meted out, but they cannot tell you what it was. There are privacy laws in place to protect all students, not just those picking on "your" child. I'm not pointing at the OP on this, this is a general example that I have had come up with: Parents demand to know what has been done to the "other" child in the issue,, but let someone else ask what was done, or Heaven's forbid find out, what was done to YOUR child and that same parent that felt they had a right to know another child's punishment, will threaten a lawsuit in a heartbeat to protect their own child's privacy in concern to punishment at school.
I've been there, done that, and have the t-shirt to prove it,,

 

[b.hromada]

Quote:
Exactly. Sounds very negligent on the schools part, for sure!! I'd be quite upset.

 

[herfrds]

Well I talked to the other witness last night with their parents consent.
The witness told me that there was NO game of keep away. (That came from the principle.)
Both boys were messing around. The witness stated that they did not hear what the kid said to my son, but they did hear what my son said. They then saw the kid hit my son.

Now I have both my son and a witness telling similar stories.
Got a different story from the principle and a different story from the super.

Who do i beleve?
I believe my son and the witness.

Going to have to find out what was done by the super concerning the principle laughing at me.
Pretty sure they do not want it in front of the board.

redhen I do not think punching some one in the face is deserved since both boys were cussing.