NBR: Should schools discipline from facebook evidence?

KKWISC

I just heard this local story on the news from the Luxemburg-Casco school district in Wisconsin. The school is disciplining students for things like underage drinking from pictures on facebook. These were private photos that only friends could see. The kids on the news story are assuming that the principle or school liaison made up a fake page.

I for one don't think the school has jurisdiction there, but facebook is public.

What do you think?

Brookie-Cookie

If it was happening on school grounds or during a school trip, then sure.  If not then I don't see how they have any say in what a kid is doing at home.

ETA: The method of how they saw them is questionable but it's the internet not a lock box at the bank. 

hydies33

Brookie-Cookie:

If it was happening on school grounds or during a school trip, then sure.  If not then I don't see how they have any say in what a kid is doing at home.

I agree. 

MMcLean05

I don't think the school should be able to disipline for what HS students do after school. That is the parents job, not the schools. If it's not during school, or school related, then they have no right to do that. My opinion.

katieriedel

They cant prove by pictures that someone is drinking, if they are holding beer cans or bottles they can't tell by a picture if they have beer in them. They probably do but they can't assume something like that.

We have these stupid a$$ photo radar things all around Arizona and this guy got flashed on one speeding and drinking a beer, he got out of the speeding ticket because the beer was blocking his face and it couldn't clearly be seen to tell its him, and he didn't get a drinking and driving charge because they can't prove there was actually beer in the can.

 I don't think someone's pictures are something that can be used against them, (unless you have like a picture of someone stabbing someone, or a picture of someone having sex with someone.) But things like that can be photo-shopped as well.

KKWISC

Ohh I almost forgot. The schools stance is that they had an obligation to take action since the photo's did show illegal activity. I did not hear if the local authorities were contacted, but the kids that were affected are being punished with suspensions and extra-curricular activity restrictions.

karencz

I'm a high school teacher so here's my 2 cents.

As far as drinking, that should be turned over to law enforcement. As far as cyber-bullying, etc. by all means YES because that definitely impacts learning and the school environment. It's awful because some of these kids never get a break from bullying, it extends from the school right to Facebook and internet.

seells

No. Unless the pictures were them while they were on school grounds or on a school trip. Otherwise it's none of the school's business. Plus the way they saw the pictures sounds questionable. It's the parents responsibility to discipline their children for things that happen outside the school. And it's the parents responsibility to monitor the kids facebooks/myspaces/twitters etc.

yourmomwreckedmybike

KKWISC:

I just heard this local story on the news from the Luxemburg-Casco school district in Wisconsin. The school is disciplining students for things like underage drinking from pictures on facebook. These were private photos that only friends could see. The kids on the news story are assuming that the principle or school liaison made up a fake page.

I for one don't think the school has jurisdiction there, but facebook is public.

What do you think?

doesn't make sense why the school would discipline the students, if it was the police or something, thatd make sense to me..

doesn't really matter HOW the school found out about the pictures. There are privacy settings on facebook for a reason. 

sarahelizabeth624

karencz:

I'm a high school teacher so here's my 2 cents.

As far as drinking, that should be turned over to law enforcement. As far as cyber-bullying, etc. by all means YES because that definitely impacts learning and the school environment. It's awful because some of these kids never get a break from bullying, it extends from the school right to Facebook and internet.

I agree with this

Dreamsicle23

I was about to say "that's a parent's job", but that made me think...I think it's dumb when people use that argument who are anti-sex ed in schools (I think a lot of other people on here feel the same way).  I suppose that we can't discriminate which risky behaviors we want schools to intervene on.  I don't think they should be suspended from school if the drinking wasn't taking place on school grounds, but I do think parents (or authorities depending on the severity) should be informed.

kg_08

I don't see why it would be the school's responsibility to discipline for that either way. In my mind, they have no reason to do anything unless something is done on school property.

Where I used to work, they did fire a kid of saying he wanted to set fire to the store on facebook. He was sketchy anyway.

earthycrunchymama

not school related, BUT my HIV+ friend got evicted from his housing this week (with less then 48 hours notice) because of his HIV status.

When he posted to fb telling people to boycott her place of business - because she was discriminating and illegally evicted - she got a restraining order from him supposedly due to his facebook status.

I grew up with the kid. he wouldn't harm a fly. the restraining order was highly unnecessary IMO but the fact she did it over a fb comment just seemed absurd. 

 

maryenap

ONLY if the content is brought onto campus- For example, we've had girl fights over comments made on facebook. AND they start recruiting others to help in their fight. And that's just the teachers, just kidding (kind of)

BelleIsa

karencz:

I'm a high school teacher so here's my 2 cents.

As far as drinking, that should be turned over to law enforcement. As far as cyber-bullying, etc. by all means YES because that definitely impacts learning and the school environment. It's awful because some of these kids never get a break from bullying, it extends from the school right to Facebook and internet.

I agree with this.

emily0829

earthycrunchymama:

not school related, BUT my HIV+ friend got evicted from his housing this week (with less then 48 hours notice) because of his HIV status.

When he posted to fb telling people to boycott her place of business - because she was discriminating and illegally evicted - she got a restraining order from him supposedly due to his facebook status.

I grew up with the kid. he wouldn't harm a fly. the restraining order was highly unnecessary IMO but the fact she did it over a fb comment just seemed absurd. 

 

People are so backwards. She put a restraining order on HIM because SHE was illegally evicting him.... hmm.... smart cookie.

If I were him, I would considering suing the girl rather than just requesting that other people boycott her place of business. That's terribly sad. I'm sorry that he had to deal with that.

earthycrunchymama

emily0829:

earthycrunchymama:

not school related, BUT my HIV+ friend got evicted from his housing this week (with less then 48 hours notice) because of his HIV status.

When he posted to fb telling people to boycott her place of business - because she was discriminating and illegally evicted - she got a restraining order from him supposedly due to his facebook status.

I grew up with the kid. he wouldn't harm a fly. the restraining order was highly unnecessary IMO but the fact she did it over a fb comment just seemed absurd. 

People are so backwards. She put a restraining order on HIM because SHE was illegally evicting him.... hmm.... smart cookie.

If I were him, I would considering suing the girl rather than just requesting that other people boycott her place of business. That's terribly sad. I'm sorry that he had to deal with that.

I think he's contacting the ACLU. she also threatened to kill him if he trespasses. 

I called lawyers for him as soon as I found out. he knows who to go to. She violated federal fair housing laws AND the eviction process was also illegal. I'm hoping her persues this. Her thinking was so backwards like its still 1984 or something. 

 

I wonder how much weight fb should hold legally. 

 

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earthycrunchymama

I wonder about cyber bullying. there have been several teen suicides related to this - on myspace and facebook and its typically peers at school. I feel like schools should work harder on issues like that seeing as bullying is more harmful to a victim at times then photos with a kid holding beer. but where are the boundaries?

PlainandTall

I remember a situation back in high school that was really sad.  It was a boarding school and this girl was the daughter of a dean and her home was on the school campus.  She went to a party with some friends of hers from the town (not students) and after the party she went home drunk.  Her father busted her and she got punished according to the school rules as if she had been drinking on campus... I felt so bad for her that her father would discipline her as a dean and not as a dad...when her crime had nothing to do with the school except for the fact that she could not get into her own bed without stepping on school grounds. 

I hate it when schools think they own the student's life 24/7, as well as schools who think they have jurisdiction over the crimes that happen on their campus belong to them and not the community where they happen, like when colleges supress info about rapes. Or fights... I think fighing in school should get an assault charge with the police- not a school discipline.  And lastly- our local schools still practice corporal punishment- so they beat students as punishment... something that is not even legal to do to convicted criminals!! - yet it's allowed within our schools... SICK.

...the last time there was a big stink about maybe getting rid of the paddling... there was an 8th grade girl they were going to beat and at the last minute she told them that she was pregnant... so they called her parents to find out what to do and her mom said- "go ahead and hit her, maybe she'll have a miscarriage."