True and False Questions Flashcards
In what ways is free speech (1st amendment) found to be an issue in school?
What would a liberal judge rule out about sexting?
What would a more conservative judge rule out about sexting?
Free speech issues generally dealt with the school newspaper, the graduation speech, or small student protests. Those issues have been expanded to include cell phones, computers, blogs, and social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Depending on the school, cell phones may be carried and even used by students or might be totally banned.
Sexting has become a major, controversial issue that gets the students, parents, the school and often the courts involved. The more liberal judges have ruled that sexting is a private matter, over which, schools have no authority. Other, more conservative judges, use the Supreme Court free speech standard and conclude sexting causes a disruption to the normal flow of activities in school.
What are the rights in which a school can perform a search and seizer (4th amendment)?
The Supreme Court ruled that any administrator has the right to search a student or staff member with probable cause.
That standard is still supported in the courts but is being challenged more and more by students, staff and parents when dealing with computers, the Internet and cell phones. Parents especially do not feel the school has the right to look at what the student has accessed on the computer or the cell phone. With the advent of Smartphones any student can access just about any type of information and easily bypass the firewalls built into school computers.
What is the Individuals with Disabilities Act?
It mandates schools are responsible for meeting the individual needs of students in the least restrictive environment possible.
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Emotionally Disabled (ED) and Severely and Profoundly Mentally Retarded (SPMR) were the more recognized and accepted disabilities. Added to that basic list today are autism, bi-polar, and Asperger syndrome. The legal ramifications of not meeting the basic needs of these identified students are staggering. Districts have been required to pay thousands of dollars for extended services because the school did not identify the student correctly at an earlier age.
Least restrictive is when the student gets the education that they need to thrive.
What is the problem with Cyberbullying and how to deal with it?
Ask any administrator today at almost any level of education if they have had to deal with cyberbullying and the answer will most likely be yes. Technology has allowed a person to berate, humiliate, embarrass, and harass another individual without ever having a face to face confrontation. The media often reports on students committing suicide due to being bullied or harassed. Administrators walk a very fine line between what is the responsibility of the school and that of the parent because many parents select not to police what their child does on the computer and yet revolt if a school official even suggests that the student might be posting inappropriate or hurtful information on the web.
