Week+Two+5344

Student's Rights and School Discipline

1. Does your school, district or organization have any guidance or polices concerning employees personal use of social networking sites? Please discuss. 2. Discuss your school or organization's policies, procedures or guidance concerning the three "privacy trouble spots" ..... a. Inappropriate disclosure of information by the school, b. Information sharing among teachers and staff, and c. Student self-disclosure.

 A former classmate of mine is employed as a technology coach for Magnolia ISD so I reviewed their district policies for personal use of social networking sites and privacy issues. Magnolia ISD has an Acceptable Use Policy that encourages the use of Internet resources for constructive educational purposes. It clearly outlines that electronic communications systems are not confidential and may be monitored at any time to ensure appropriate use for educational purposes.

Staff members are responsible to monitor and educate students on acceptable and appropriate behavior, including interactions with other individuals on social networking sites and in chat rooms. It is expected that staff and students will explore and collaborate with other Internet users around the world. The belief is that the educational benefits, access to informational resources, and opportunities for global collaboration exceed the disadvantages and the district considers computer and Internet use a part of the instructional program just like a textbook. The district holds all users (teachers and students) personally responsible for their own actions in accessing and utilizing the school’s computer resources.

The district addresses privac y and security issues by stating that network storage areas should be treated like school lockers and users should never access network accounts or files that do not belong to them. Network administrators reserve the right to review communications and content to ensure that the system is being used responsibly and to maintain integrity.

The policy further states that “personal information about students including, but not limited to student names, addresses and phone numbers shall not be transmitted outside the district network, without written permission from the student or his/her parents.”

Magnolia ISD Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) The use of computers, the internet and electronic mail. Retrieved October 14, 2010 from http://tiny.cc/1tu6t

[|Magnolia ISD AUP]

 Discuss a scenario you have experiences that has blurred the line between student expression and school safety or discipline.  How did your school handle the situation?  If you have not experiences such a case, think of a fictional situation and use the cases we discussed this week to come to a conclusion about the proper way to react.
 * Discussion:**

Last night on the local news an incident was reported where a 15 year old high school sophomore alleged that he was assaulted by a teacher. The student said he and his friends were “mouthing off” to another student during school when a teacher came from behind and pinned him against the lockers by his neck. The incident left a bruise on the boy’s neck and the parent said that she felt her son had been physically violated. The school supported the teacher based on the information they had of the incident and argued that the teacher had stepped in and diffused a potentially dangerous and volatile situation. A representative from the ESC said “He did what we expect of any of our teachers to do when students are in a potentially dangerous situation.” (KBMT News) No charges have been filed but the family is blaming the teacher and is looking for another school for their son.

Although the teacher may have been justified in using force in this situation, I feel that there would need to be more evidence to show whether or not the teacher exercised reasonable judgment and used force as a last resort in resolving this conflict. In my opinion, the news media reports these types of incidents as a way of gaining viewers. People are interested anytime they think that student’s rights are being violated. People outside the educational system are quick to criticize teachers and at the same time fail to hold students accountable for their actions. KBMT News, 12newsnow.com. Retrieved October 15, 2010 from []  **On the issue of wearing "I Love Boobies" bracelets to promote breast cancer awareness:** I am still trying to figure out how I feel about this issue. It certainly is a gray area and there are blurring of the boundaries. After reading the posts above about the same issue, it is clear that different school administrators feel differently on this same issue. That is why there needs to be a clear and yet general guideline to determine how to resolve these types of gray area issues. In my opinion there are 2 key questions that are indicated here. 1.) Are the bracelets offensive to others? and 2.) Are they a distraction the education of students? If the answer to either question is yes, then the bracelets need to go. I am basing these questions on the Tinker v. DesMoines (1969) case regarding symbolic speech and the Bethel v. Fraser (1986) case regarding lewd and offensive speech. I asked my director, who is a strong proponent of breast cancer awareness, what she thought about it and she stated that she felt that teachers should use the bracelets as a teaching opportunity but she also agreed that some teachers and students may be offended by them. I think whoever came up with the idea for the campaign certainly must have realized that it would create controversy which would accomplish the goal of raising awareness for breast cancer research. **On the issue of removing a student's artwork from a display case that was religious in nature:** Michael, I too am interested in knowing what happened in this case. Based on what you have stated I see no legitimate reason for this student's artwork to be removed but it does sound like someone had a problem with the student's freedom of expression of his faith. Why is it that his was the only work to be removed and no explanation given? I see nothing in any of the 3 court cases that we covered this week that would apply in this situation to cause the artwork to be removed. I don't understand why it seems that the one subject we are so afraid to talk about in schools is religion or matters of faith. We need to stop ignoring the fact that faith is a part of who people are and respect and accept their freedom to express that faith. It's not about religion, it's about relationship. Matthew, I just had to share this experience that I had as a parent speaking before the school board on one occasion. Years ago my daughter, the youngest of my four children, was in the 8th grade when in two of her classes she viewed The Patriot, and Schinder's List, both in their entirety. At the time, both movies were rated R and my daughter would not have been allowed in a theater to view either of them due to the graphic nature of the films.
 * On the issue of parents appealing the decision of a school official:**

Although I agree that both movies have great value, one is extremely violent and the other has scenes of nudity although not in a sexual context. Students in the classes were tested over the facts of the movies. I may not have had a problem if only excerpts of the movie were used to illustrate a point, but I didn't feel that watching the entire movie was required and especially without having parents permission. Another parent and myself both expressed our concerns to the principal over the fact that we as parents were never contacted to give permission for our children watching these movies, but were disappointed in the response we received. The principal basically said he would talk to the teachers about it.

When we felt that we had no other recourse, we asked to be on the agenda at the school board meeting and I came prepared with a speech expressing my extreme displeasure. I delivered it in a respectful but confident manner because I felt very strongly about my beliefs. What I didn't realize was that someone had invited the media and the next day I was interviewed on the radio and there was a big front page write up in the local paper. (Not good publicity for my local school district.) I had my say, but I'm not sure I was pleased with the results. In the end, the school board seemed to be more concerned about the fact that the school might have to pay royalties for showing a movie in its entirety rather than the fact that student's and parents rights had been violated.


 * Week 2 Assignment - IEP Development**