Can a teacher check a pupil's phone for "inappropriate content"?

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ASFKAP

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Does a teacher have the right to ask a pupil (a minor) to hand over his phone to enable them to check the phones content for "inappropriate content" without a parent being present?
 
Thanks for that, not exactly the situation I've been asked about. In this case the phone was not on and in the student's pocket, the principle asked him to hand it over for examination, once the "inappropriate content" was discovered the phone was confiscated. My question is really whether the teacher had the right to conduct this "search" without the parent present rather than the actual confiscation of the phone....
Thanks for the link though.
 
i wouldn't have thought so. would a guard not have to wait for a minor's guardian to arrive before doing so. and if the boy had his phone off and in his pocket, what gave the principal the right to take it, fair enough if it was on and he was messing with it in class... me thinks principal is walking on thin ice there. But i am open to correction :)
 
Who condones "inappropriate content"?

Surely the issue here is the fact that there was inappropriate content on the phone and if the Principal prevented it from being distributed then I would suggest that most parents, and the parents of the pupil concerned, would appreciate his actions. There is a lot of inappropriate content out there that many parents are not aware of because they cannot or will not check their childrens phones.
 
must say i'm with tosh on this one, the head obviously had a tip off in this instance, if this were my child i'd be more angry with him than the head.
 
Thanks I'm aware of the moral argument regarding this issue but I just wondered what the legal position was. I had to go down to the school and receive a lecture when it happened and obviously was very disappointed and angry with my son for being so stupid. The school impounded the mobile for a month and made him agree not to bring it back to school before returning it, which was fair enough.
I would have preferred if they'd contacted me first and let me be present when the phone was examined, the principle seemed to think he had the authority to effectively search my son without a parent present.
 
I think the pincipal should gave had another member of staff with him/her when doing this... I understand your looking at it from a legal point of view but is it really necessary seeing if you have a case against the school. Surely highlight your unhappiness with the principal and not to do this again??
 
To be fair the original poster hasn't said that s/he is looking to see if there is a case to be taken against the school as opposed to understanding the letter of the law in this situation. It's a tricky one - on the one hand privacy rights of individuals (including minors) are extremely important. On the other hand the school and principal have certain rights and obligations to the individual pupil, their parents/guardians but also the wider school community. In some cases attempting to cater to both can lead to conflicting goals. A certain amount of pragmatism on the part of the school authorities and the parents/guardians of individual pupils is presumably needed. It's also difficult to lead by example to the minors to expect and value fundamental rights while also adhering to general school rules and discipline without sending out mixed messages leading to confusion...
 
Thanks, no I'm not planning any legal action or anything, the matter is closed now but at the time I just wasn't sure exactly what were my (and my sons) rights in this instance. The principle seemed to think he held ALL the cards not to mention the moral high ground....
 
I think that if teachers had to call a parent in for every instance similar to this not alot of teaching would get done. Firstly, how many parents would be able to make it to the school at short notice. If the search was literally your son being asked to hand over the phone rather than the principal actually taking it from your sons person than I don't see how it was inappropriate. If the principal had a tip off which he must of had, then your son was more than likely sharing this inappropriate content with others ( as boys will do), so unfortunately I'd just let the principal have the moral high ground on this one and put it out of your mind.
 
Given that the school is responsible for looking after the children from the minute they go into school to the minute they leave then I would think that the principal was in the right. In the same way I assume that they can search a lunch box or a locker.
 
If the student had a notepad or copybook, in their bag and the teacher thought there was 'inappropriate material' in it and so asked the student to hand it over for examination, would we expect the teacher to wait for a parent to be present?? Ok, a phone is not a copybook, but they are both the student's private property, and the fact they have brought it onto the school premises surely imposes responsibility not to use it inappropriately and also imposes responsibility on the school to ensure it is not used for any inappropriate purpose. BAck when I was in school it would more likely to have been a student pulled up over having a 'magazine' in their bag - would anyone have complained if teacher ordered someone then to empty their bag to show what was inside??

So yes, students have rights to privacy, but when they breach their own responsibility towards others, then I think the school has a right to take action. Obviously as long as they do not forcibly take the phone from the child. As for calling in the parent, would this not have just given the child opportunity to delete the material, or else wasted hours of everyone's time keeping the child under supervision until the parent got there. On balance, I agree with the taechers approach.
 
ASFKAP said:
Thanks I'm aware of the moral argument regarding this issue but I just wondered what the legal position was. I had to go down to the school and receive a lecture when it happened and obviously was very disappointed and angry with my son for being so stupid. The school impounded the mobile for a month and made him agree not to bring it back to school before returning it, which was fair enough.
I would have preferred if they'd contacted me first and let me be present when the phone was examined, the principle seemed to think he had the authority to effectively search my son without a parent present.
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I'd imagine the principal would have a duty of care to protect other kids in the school, by taking whatever steps are open to him/her to shield them from inappropriate content - either in your son's phone or elsewhere. I can't see how they could exercise this duty of care if they were unable to examine phones, schoolbags etc unless a parent was present.

You were right to be very disappointed and angry with your son. You will not do him any favours in the long run if you are seen to challenge, on procedural/legalistic grounds, those charged with authority over him, every time he does something wrong.
 
Given that the school is responsible for looking after the children from the minute they go into school to the minute they leave then I would think that the principal was in the right. In the same way I assume that they can search a lunch box or a locker.
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Someone on the other mobile phone thread mentioned the school being in parentis locus - I think this applies in this case also. From a legal point of view, the school staff are substitute parents while in charge of the child and have similar rights to a parent.
 
Very difficult one!
My opinion would be that the principles actions potentially prevented other children being subject to receiving 'inappropriate' content to thier phone, so therefore he was guarding the rights of other children, as obviously some where along the long some one was not impressed leading to the Principle getting the information.
If would have been a worse situation if he had got the guards as legal action may have to be taken depending on what the content was. (It happened with a parent looking at childs phone in Cork a year or two ago AFAIK) For example if it invovled a minor or violated some one elses privacy, or a child.
 
There are usually two sides to every story (especially with pupils). It would be difficult to determine who was right or wrong here without getting the teachers side of the story.

Rgds
Billo
 
So no definitve legal opinion then but lots of moral opinions.
Maybe I should have pointed out what the inappropriate content was, it was happy-slapping clips which had been downloaded off the internet and were being 'Bluetoothed' between students at lunchtime. The principle said he had been tipped off that there was something going on so he picked one of the kids to see what was happening.....
 
ASFKAP said:
So no definitve legal opinion then but lots of moral opinions.
Maybe I should have pointed out what the inappropriate content was, it was happy-slapping clips which had been downloaded off the internet and were being 'Bluetoothed' between students at lunchtime. The principle said he had been tipped off that there was something going on so he picked one of the kids to see what was happening.....
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If you wanted a "definitive legal opinion" then why didn't you go to a solicitor rather than posting on a site called Askaboutmoney? Happy-slapping is a disgraceful activity and I would be more concerned about my son being into this kind of thing rather than whether a teacher can ask to see a mobile phone. Maybe it's just me but I find your attitude a little odd.
 
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