Cell Phones in the Classroom

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We have been discussing the issue of cell phones in classrooms a lot lately.  Most schools have a clear policy prohibiting the use of cell phones in classrooms and standard practice seems to be “if I see it, you lose it.”  Some policies specify that the phones will be confiscated for the day, others say it can be detained for a longer period.  One question that comes up quite frequently is whether or not educators can search the contents of the cell phone.  We have discussed this issue before on this blog.  I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight a recent federal district court ruling that speaks to this issue.

From Klump v. Nazareth Area School District:

“The Supreme Court has held that a student search must nevertheless satisfy the reasonableness requirement of the Fourth Amendment. In the context of searches conducted by school officials, this means that the search must be justified at its inception and reasonable in scope.  To be justified at its inception, there must be ‘reasonable grounds for believing that the search will turn up evidence that the student has violated or is violating either the law or the rules of the school.’  Here, defendant Kocher was justified in seizing the cell phone, as plaintiff Christopher Klump had violated the school’s policy prohibiting use or display of cell phones during school hours. In calling other students, however, defendants Grube and Kocher were conducting a search to find evidence of other students’ misconduct, which they may not do under the standard articulated above.” (p. 36)

So basically, our interpretation of this ruling is that, unless educators have reason to believe that a law or policy of the school has been violated, they cannot search the contents of student cell phones.  While simply displaying the cell phone may be a violation of the school policy, it appears that it is not enough to justify a more thorough search of the contents of the phone.  Of course educators could always obtain consent from the student’s parent(s) to conduct a search of their phone.  What are your thoughts? Respond to our poll or leave us a comment.

38 Comments

  1. I would never allow a teacher or administrator to violate my children's privacy of the contents of their cell phone- especially text messages and voice mails- without a really ,really good articulable reason."I think.." is not a good enough reason. Even then, I would search the phone for evidence of that particular violation so the administration cannot do a" fishing" expedition.Of course, if it is an alleged serious crime, the school can always seek a search warrant and probably should before they violate state laws against accesssing electronic communications illegally. I am a very strict parent but my children do have rights and are entitled to some privacy.- especially from big brother. If I feel it is a serious enough alleged violation, I will have no problem checking the phone myself and then deciding whether I want the school to be given the phone based on what I find.I have told my children if a teacher or principal asks for your phone, take the battery out before you give it to them or ,if you have time, the sim card and the battery.Then give it to them.

    Should mention excellent post! Can't wait to reading your next post!

  2. I would never allow a teacher or administrator to violate my children's privacy of the contents of their cell phone- especially text messages and voice mails- without a really ,really good articulable reason."I think.." is not a good enough reason. Even then, I would search the phone for evidence of that particular violation so the administration cannot do a" fishing" expedition.Of course, if it is an alleged serious crime, the school can always seek a search warrant and probably should before they violate state laws against accesssing electronic communications illegally. I am a very strict parent but my children do have rights and are entitled to some privacy.- especially from big brother. If I feel it is a serious enough alleged violation, I will have no problem checking the phone myself and then deciding whether I want the school to be given the phone based on what I find.I have told my children if a teacher or principal asks for your phone, take the battery out before you give it to them or ,if you have time, the sim card and the battery.Then give it to them.

    Should mention excellent post! Can't wait to reading your next post!

  3. It is not the responsibility of the school to monitor a students behaviors on a personal level, that is the responsibility of the parents. While there are a lot of parents who do not hold their children responsible for their actions it is still their responsibility and not that of the school. However, if there is a serious case which the phone records need to be searched then absolutly the school should have the right to search with the help of local authorities.

  4. It is not the responsibility of the school to monitor a students behaviors on a personal level, that is the responsibility of the parents. While there are a lot of parents who do not hold their children responsible for their actions it is still their responsibility and not that of the school. However, if there is a serious case which the phone records need to be searched then absolutly the school should have the right to search with the help of local authorities.

  5. Police officers can’t just review information inside a criminal’s cell phone in a case without a search warrant…why would we hold students…yes, students on such an inverse standard? Students may break rules, and it is understandable that they do because they are, after all, kids who are learning. Most schools have a police officer on site, HS anyway. They should be filing the proper paperwork if the phone's content is of value to them.

  6. Police officers can’t just review information inside a criminal’s cell phone in a case without a search warrant…why would we hold students…yes, students on such an inverse standard? Students may break rules, and it is understandable that they do because they are, after all, kids who are learning. Most schools have a police officer on site, HS anyway. They should be filing the proper paperwork if the phone's content is of value to them.

  7. School administrators to not act under the tight bindings of the 4th Amendment. There is case law to back up this statement. Cell phones are like lockers. Bottom line is they can be searched within reason.

  8. School administrators to not act under the tight bindings of the 4th Amendment. There is case law to back up this statement. Cell phones are like lockers. Bottom line is they can be searched within reason.

  9. While chaperoning a middle school dance we found a cell phone. We opened the phone attempting to look to the contact list for an emergency number. A wrong button was hit and suddenly a picture of one of our 7th grade students with very few clothes on and posing in a very "adult" manner appeared on the screen. We went to her, asked if it was her phone. She indicated it was an 8th grade boy's phone. We were told by administration that we were not allowed to tell the girl's parents what we saw. I literally lost sleep over the incident. If that were my 12 year old daughter, I would want to know that she was allowing boys to take picture of her in that manner. While I believe that everyone has rights under our constitution, I truly believe we would live in a better and safer world if teachers who spend 1/3 of EVERY day with students didn't have to worry about laws when deciding what we are allowed to do when it comes to some of our students.

  10. While chaperoning a middle school dance we found a cell phone. We opened the phone attempting to look to the contact list for an emergency number. A wrong button was hit and suddenly a picture of one of our 7th grade students with very few clothes on and posing in a very "adult" manner appeared on the screen. We went to her, asked if it was her phone. She indicated it was an 8th grade boy's phone. We were told by administration that we were not allowed to tell the girl's parents what we saw. I literally lost sleep over the incident. If that were my 12 year old daughter, I would want to know that she was allowing boys to take picture of her in that manner. While I believe that everyone has rights under our constitution, I truly believe we would live in a better and safer world if teachers who spend 1/3 of EVERY day with students didn't have to worry about laws when deciding what we are allowed to do when it comes to some of our students.

  11. I fully understand the points that the two previous teachers brought up. I know that lockers, for instance, can be searched because they are school property and not the property of the student. The cell phone is a different story though. In the specific case of the cell phone at the dance, there is a duty on the part of the teacher and school to report the findings to the authorities. The private property was found in a public location. When trying to identify the owner of the phone (assuming that the student didn't have his/her name on the outside of the phone)the photos were discovered. Even if discovered by accident like that the school has to report this to the authorities. From there the authorities can notify parents and take whatever action they feel necessary. This is one of those rights of one vs. protecting another instances. Which one trumps? I have to believe that in this case, since it was a 12 year old girl it would be the protection.

  12. I fully understand the points that the two previous teachers brought up. I know that lockers, for instance, can be searched because they are school property and not the property of the student. The cell phone is a different story though. In the specific case of the cell phone at the dance, there is a duty on the part of the teacher and school to report the findings to the authorities. The private property was found in a public location. When trying to identify the owner of the phone (assuming that the student didn't have his/her name on the outside of the phone)the photos were discovered. Even if discovered by accident like that the school has to report this to the authorities. From there the authorities can notify parents and take whatever action they feel necessary. This is one of those rights of one vs. protecting another instances. Which one trumps? I have to believe that in this case, since it was a 12 year old girl it would be the protection.

  13. This is great discussion everyone…thanks! This is a very complicated issue. Clearly there are different rules for educators than there are for law enforcement officers. Educators are not bound as tightly to the 4th amendment. There is a difference between an administrative search and a criminal search. Educators can search in many cases where law enforcement cannot – only to enforce administrative rules/policies (not criminal laws). That said, my reading of the available caselaw still suggests that a search of a private cell phone is not allowed unless there is reasonable suspicion that evidence exists on that cell phone that there is a violation of school policy. Even then, my advice is to turn the device over to law enforcement and have them deal with it…it isn't worth the headache for teachers to deal with the mess that these incidents could create. Good luck!

  14. This is great discussion everyone…thanks! This is a very complicated issue. Clearly there are different rules for educators than there are for law enforcement officers. Educators are not bound as tightly to the 4th amendment. There is a difference between an administrative search and a criminal search. Educators can search in many cases where law enforcement cannot – only to enforce administrative rules/policies (not criminal laws). That said, my reading of the available caselaw still suggests that a search of a private cell phone is not allowed unless there is reasonable suspicion that evidence exists on that cell phone that there is a violation of school policy. Even then, my advice is to turn the device over to law enforcement and have them deal with it…it isn't worth the headache for teachers to deal with the mess that these incidents could create. Good luck!

  15. but if you check the kids sell phone other kids will soon find out and may treat them diffrently deppending on their status in school I rule

  16. quarters, are you arguing that "kids sell phones" should not be checked because it may damage their popularity? If that is your argument, then the argument does not hold. There are many instances in which disciplining students for inappropriate behavior in class can affect their popularity. Thus, according to your argument teachers should not discipline a students for their inappropriate behavior either since "other kids will soon find out (their behavior) and may treat them diffrently deppending on their status in school."

  17. still think about your childhood would you want that i mean if you have an embarrising text messege and they threaten you that they will show it then let them figure it out on how to stop it at least they have a chance because if an adult sees it they will report it and all the other kids will soon find out.

  18. still think about your childhood would you want that i mean if you have an embarrising text messege and they threaten you that they will show it then let them figure it out on how to stop it at least they have a chance because if an adult sees it they will report it and all the other kids will soon find out.

  19. Reading these comments has helped a little, but not much. I'm going through an incident where there was a fight that took place in my son class, and several of the students took out there cell phones to videotape the fight. Well for one he shouldn't had the phone at school in the first place, his dumb decision. Well I was called my the teacher that confiscated the phone, who told me his phone was now part of an investigation, supposedly the fight. Well come to find out there were other "non-school" related activities and pictures in his phone, and the school turn the phone over to law enforcement. Do we have any rights in this situation?

  20. Did anyone read the ruling above, Klump vs. Nazareth? Schools DO NOT have the right to search the phone. We would live in a better and safer world if people who spend 1/3 of the kids' lives with them were brighter people. We would be even BETTER off if administrators stopped their megalomaniacal behaviors. YOU ARE TOOLS! You are tools to condition the students to bow to authority immediately, assuming that authority to have the right to violate the Constitution … "duh … what's that?" The Constitution still applies within the walls of a school, thank god, though administrators and teachers seem to assume otherwise. How do we teach young Americans how to be good citizens by ignoring or violating the very Constitutional rights we presume to be teaching them? The country is going to hell in a hand basket, and we teachers are contributing to its demise.

    — A Teacher With a Functioning Brain

  21. Did anyone read the ruling above, Klump vs. Nazareth? Schools DO NOT have the right to search the phone. We would live in a better and safer world if people who spend 1/3 of the kids' lives with them were brighter people. We would be even BETTER off if administrators stopped their megalomaniacal behaviors. YOU ARE TOOLS! You are tools to condition the students to bow to authority immediately, assuming that authority to have the right to violate the Constitution … "duh … what's that?" The Constitution still applies within the walls of a school, thank god, though administrators and teachers seem to assume otherwise. How do we teach young Americans how to be good citizens by ignoring or violating the very Constitutional rights we presume to be teaching them? The country is going to hell in a hand basket, and we teachers are contributing to its demise.

    — A Teacher With a Functioning Brain

  22. Let’s be clear about one thing, "educators" (teachers, administrators, etc.) are not cops! This means they should not be held to the 4th Amendment laws regarding search and seizure or what is referred to as the "Terry Stop and Frisk" laws. Cops are held to the 4th Amendment to protect your privacy from unreasonable search and seizure. There is no expectation to privacy in a kid's desk, locker, or storage unit in school. This is case law as well. PARENTS, how dare you take the liberal "high ground" in defending your child. You should be embarrassed by your actions. Look in the mirror and ask yourself what YOUR parents would have done in the same situation if a school official called you and asked for permission to search the contents of a cell phone. My mother and father would have granted this in a heartbeat if there was even a suspicion that I was harassing, bullying or intimidating another student and impeding their education. Cell phones in schools would not even be an issue if the hysteria of accountability on 9/11 had not happened. Cell phones are a privilege, not a right, and if you want the privilege of brining one in my school, then you're going to sign a waiver of your "rights" to privacy. No student will be bullied or harassed on my watch.

  23. I wanted to comment on the post by "Another teacher says Says" posted on April 23rd, 2009 at 11:34 pm: This is a legal matter of a whole different nature and the SCHOOL is as liable for this one as the teachers and the student. Depending on how "Adult" this picture was…It may very well fall under the child pornography law and the student who possessed the picture could face charges. Also, by not reporting it, the teachers who found it could face charges as well as the administration for telling the teachers not to report it. And in my personal opinion if such pictures showed up on a cell phone that I had confiscated you better believe I would notify the authorities and if they said it wasn't an illegal picture, I would send word onto the parents of both kids and the minute the school hit me with any kind of "punishment" I would have my lawyer all over them and possibly the media as well to let everyone know of the school that obviously does not have the students' best interests and well-being in mind.

  24. I wanted to comment on the post by "Another teacher says Says" posted on April 23rd, 2009 at 11:34 pm: This is a legal matter of a whole different nature and the SCHOOL is as liable for this one as the teachers and the student. Depending on how "Adult" this picture was…It may very well fall under the child pornography law and the student who possessed the picture could face charges. Also, by not reporting it, the teachers who found it could face charges as well as the administration for telling the teachers not to report it. And in my personal opinion if such pictures showed up on a cell phone that I had confiscated you better believe I would notify the authorities and if they said it wasn't an illegal picture, I would send word onto the parents of both kids and the minute the school hit me with any kind of "punishment" I would have my lawyer all over them and possibly the media as well to let everyone know of the school that obviously does not have the students' best interests and well-being in mind.

  25. Well, I'm a student and i just got suspended from school for text messages on my phone saying I was high around 6:50 a.m. I don't start school til 8, and they said "I was under the influence". MAybe this is true, but it's bullshit that an administrator went through my phone. It's the first thing she asked for, and right when she got it she read ALL of my text messages. Even the ones from my girlfriend, which were private, pertaining to an argument we had. Then, she put me in In School Suspension for 2 hours with my phone in her possession because "It was on". And every text i got in that two hours, no matter who they were from, were opened by her. Can my family sue the school system of my county for this?

  26. Michael-

    Yes, you may sue school sysytem, as well as each individual involved in reading the texts and punishing you or others for the texts. I am doing so in my county now for similar reasons. My son's phone was confiscated for being "on" tho he had sent no text nor made any calls during school day. I printed out the phone records to show them. They had fished thru all info on phone and found incriminating texts/pics from other dates – nonschool hours, and he was suspended and marked having porn on permanent school record. THAT info was illegal for them to search for and find. They did not ask permission, nor did they do that to every phone confiscated. They had no report that anything questionable would be found and they searched only on a "hunch".

  27. As an educator, I think it is safe to say that the majority of teachers (I don't speak for everyone) are not interested in rummaging through a students cell phone. While I was teaching middle school, I confiscated many cell phones. Mainly because they weren't allowed out in class, but never once did I go through a cell phone. I had no reason nor did I care to.

    There were, however, sepereate instances where adminstratored had searched phones because of probable cause. I believe there is no problem with this. If students want to carry a cell phone with them and use them in inappropriate ways, they run the risk of being searched, like a back-pack or locker. The most important priority of a school is to make sure they have a safe learning environment. If parents are unhappy about this, then maybe they need to do a better job of monitoring what is on their child's phone. This would help prevent the mis-use of phones, and eliminate the need for administrators to search a students phone.

    Most parents whose childs phone has been searched are more worried about their "rights." What about concentrating on the behavior that landed your child in this position to begin with?

  28. As an educator, I think it is safe to say that the majority of teachers (I don't speak for everyone) are not interested in rummaging through a students cell phone. While I was teaching middle school, I confiscated many cell phones. Mainly because they weren't allowed out in class, but never once did I go through a cell phone. I had no reason nor did I care to.

    There were, however, sepereate instances where adminstratored had searched phones because of probable cause. I believe there is no problem with this. If students want to carry a cell phone with them and use them in inappropriate ways, they run the risk of being searched, like a back-pack or locker. The most important priority of a school is to make sure they have a safe learning environment. If parents are unhappy about this, then maybe they need to do a better job of monitoring what is on their child's phone. This would help prevent the mis-use of phones, and eliminate the need for administrators to search a students phone.

    Most parents whose childs phone has been searched are more worried about their "rights." What about concentrating on the behavior that landed your child in this position to begin with?

  29. As a teacher, parent and a cell phone user, I think no school official has the right to view your information without your permission. However I do feel that cell phones should be left in lockers or backpacks during class. They are highly distractible and you can easily lose focus. I once had a first grader who wanted to keep a cell phone in his desk so he could call home if he needed to and the parent was for this. We need to have some regulations but no teacher wants to nor has the time to play police. The purpose of schools are to motivate students and instill knowledge. Hopefully we can continue this without the interference of cell phones in the classroom. dianne

  30. As a teacher, parent and a cell phone user, I think no school official has the right to view your information without your permission. However I do feel that cell phones should be left in lockers or backpacks during class. They are highly distractible and you can easily lose focus. I once had a first grader who wanted to keep a cell phone in his desk so he could call home if he needed to and the parent was for this. We need to have some regulations but no teacher wants to nor has the time to play police. The purpose of schools are to motivate students and instill knowledge. Hopefully we can continue this without the interference of cell phones in the classroom. dianne

  31. As are teacher , parent and pricpal should talk about cellbullying because some people get heart or get kill…….So people should stop talking about people or puthing thing on facebook and athor things…..

  32. As are teacher , parent and pricpal should talk about cellbullying because some people get heart or get kill…….So people should stop talking about people or puthing thing on facebook and athor things…..

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