school confiscates cell phone, lawyer dad is mad?

[DrewDevil]

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Not if the school has made a rule that the phone is being confiscated for 30 days. You're just wrong.


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Some middle school's rule book has no more binding authority on a student's parent than the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's Honor Code has on me. So unless the town/county/state passed a LAW that allows the school to refuse to return the phone to the parent for a month, they have no right to hold it.

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I really hope you are the jackass parent who decides to sue a school because there's no LAW that says it can confiscate your boy's cell phone! And then everyone can laugh at your jackassery. You might even make the national papers!

[4_2_it]

Copied from my daughter's School Code of Conduct:

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Students may not use cell phones for any purpose in the school building at any time. Additionally, students may not use cell phones outside of the school between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Cell phones are permitted but may not be visible or turned on during these times. Cell phones that are visible will be taken and turned in to the school office and parents will be contacted.

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For emergencies:

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The school telephones should not be used by students to make routine phone calls to conduct business that can be handled outside the school day. When it is necessary to call, a pay telephone is available to students in the lobby. Students must receive permission and a pass from their teacher to use the telephone. Students will be permitted to use the telephones during homeroom and during their lunch period. Students are discouraged from using the telephone during regular class instructional time. However, they may do so if there is an emergency and the student has secured permission from his/her teacher. Students should keep 50 cents at all times so they can make these calls.

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Whether the school can keep the phone for 30 days or not has no bearing on the crux of my argument. I have no problem with parents being required to come to the school for a conference before the phone is returned.

30 days might be excessive, but it sounds like this school might be catching the same kids day after day in which case confiscation for a period of time has some merit. If mom and dad can't make Johnny follow the rules, then the school needs to do something. Maybe the answer is they just kick his sorry ass out of school instead of confiscating the phone.

Hopefully OP will provide the school policies so we can see what exactly the parents agreed to when they sent their kid to school. If the parents didn't like the school rules, they could have enrolled little Johnny at Douchetown High.

[The X-Factor]

I can see why the dad would be a little upset. Who wants to pay for a phone thats sitting in some teachers desk somewhere? No one does. I mean what if the kid had a wreck on the way home and couldnt call his parents and tell them? I also understand the kid should just follow the rules as well but seriously, you should be able to just take someones stuff.

X

[4_2_it]

X,

My daughter has brought her phone to school for almost two years without a problem. As posted above, he school will take away any visible cell phone, whether in use or not.

I agree that a kid who can't follow simple school rules is more likely to get into trouble outside of school; however, unless he lives in a secluded area, I doubt he will be in an accident where there aren't at least 10 bystanders who have cell phones that he could borrow.

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Wtf possible reason do you need for a phone at school, I don't remember anyone ever having a valid reason for it

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I brought my cell phone to high school because I would often go to work or some friend's house after school

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These reasons are retarted, do you know that kids went to other peoples houses or work before mobile phones were invented.

[mmcd]

I'd never file such a stupid lawsuit (even though I know I'd win; I'm a lawyer), but I guarantee you that if I took time out of my day to go down to the school and get the phone back, I'd be leaving with it. I wouldn't argue with them at all over any punishment they imposed on my child; he got caught breaking their rules, so he should face their consequences, but I absolutely would not allow them to keep my property.

[DrewDevil]

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I'd never file such a stupid lawsuit (even though I know I'd win; I'm a lawyer), but I guarantee you that if I took time out of my day to go down to the school and get the phone back, I'd be leaving with it. I wouldn't argue with them at all over any punishment they imposed on my child; he got caught breaking their rules, so he should face their consequences, but I absolutely would not allow them to keep my property.

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I'm a lawyer too, and lawyers like you who beat their chests and go on and on about how this is the LAW and YOU CAN'T SEIZE MY PROPERTY are the reason people hate lawyers.

Why not tell your child to just obey the f*cking rules instead of trying to show everyone how you have the LAW on your side?

Sheesh.

[iron81]

Here's my thing with cell phones. I don't think it should be a problem to talk on the phone anywhere its ok to talk to a person standing next to you. I mean, how is it more annoying to be talking on a phone than to have twice the number of people speaking?

Places its ok to use phone:
Car while driving
Restaurant
Grocery Store
Between classes at high school

Places its not ok:
Church
Movie theater
In class

[Patton4]

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Also, IMO, leaving a kid with no phone outside of school for a month poses an unnecessary safety risk.

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F that!!! I graduated in 97' and I didn't have a phone, nor did the kids I went to school with. We didn't die. Cell phones have become this generations security blanket. People go into panic attacks when they lose them... it is Fing ridiculous.

I've seen the disease that it text messaging corrupting most high school kids. They have no clue what merits reasonable use of a phone, and use it only to talk crap to each other, gossip, and other social activities. Not allowing schools to confiscate phones makes students feel empowered and basically invincible (mostly because of douche bag parents who fight against any rule that prevents their little flower from blooming). Students will laugh in the faces of teachers who already have a hard enough time trying to deal with their jobs, let alone trying to keep kids off their phones.

Again, this is the third time the kid has had a problem with the phone. Where the hell was the parents discipline after the first time he had to get the phone?

Follow the gotdamn rules and your phone won't get taken from you mutha f***as!!!!

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iron81,

whilst I agree in some with your point.

Car while driving - terrible, it's dangerous even talking with a hands free kit is dangerous, numerous studies on this, no point going further.

Restaurant - would you just start having another conversation with a friend who walked up to your table, ok maybe, but the thing is would you then totally ignore the rest of the table in doing so no that would be rude, telephone conversations are not comparable to 1-1 conversations in the presence of another person because they don't include the everyone. Which I feel in some circumstances leads it to be rude.

That being said if it's a casual dinner, lunch I will excuse myself to take the call. Even in the presence of business associates I will take a call if they would do the same (obviously this is tricky to read). However my phone is always on vibrate.

Between classes at high school I just can't see a reason to need to call anyone at school, who possibly could you need to call, your buddy you'll see at lunch time...it's just wanky and stupid, kids need rules.