Saturday, March 29, 2014

US schools lose god-like powers over internet - Have to obey the constitution

US schools lose god-like powers over internet - Have to obey the constitution | TechEye
A US school is in shock after discovering that it did not have the power of God over its students' internet use.
Minnewaska Area Schools thought that all that stuff about human rights and the constitution did not apply to its staff when they forced a student to hand over her social media passwords to a school so they could snoop through her off-campus life.
It now looks like a US judge has reminded them of their status in society and told them clearly that forcing a student to give up their social media passwords is a violation of the First Amendment.
The school is coughing up $70,000 in damages and rewriting its policies to prevent further abuse.
However it seems that US schools really do not have a clue when it comes to thinking that they have the power of life and death over their students.
A Rogers High School senior Reid Sagehorn, a 17-year-old student and football captain, was suspended for seven weeks for a two word internet posting.
The Minnewaska case also really has not been resolved because the school still does not see that it has done anything wrong.
The appropriately named Greg Schmidt, Superintendent, who wasn't in that position when the snooping occurred but did work on the settlement was quoted as saying "we want to make kids aware that their actions outside school can be detrimental"

Actually, Schmidt, a judge just said that it is not your job, are you deaf boy?
Now write out 100 times "The US constitution says I should not invade by student's privacy".

1 comment:

Take The Red Pill said...

There's that darn ol' Constitution AGAIN!!! Always getting in the way, always interfering, always preventing us from having our wonderous socialist Utopia!
{Snark off}