Week+4+Judicial+Review

=Case Study:=

As a high school principal, you hear from teachers that a significant number of students in your school have Web sites at Facebook.com, and many students interact with their Facebook pages multiple times per day. You also hear that some students post opinions and rumors about you, teachers, and other students on these pages. After further investigation, you discover that students use the computers in the school's Media Center to visit the sites during the school day. (The sites are developed and maintained on computers outside of school during students' personal time.)


 * What free speech issues are involved?
 * What kinds of postings on the sites merit punishment by the school?
 * As principal, what steps should you take to minimize legal problems?

=__Team Brainstorming__:=

Use the chart below to contribute key points, be sure to utilize citations as you provide text-based evidence for your statements:
- According to Tinker, the postings would need to create a significant disruption to merit punishment that removes the student from school (suspension). However, in Doninger v. Neihoff (2008) school officials were allowed to prohibit a student from running for class office because of postings on a blog that made vulgar comments about a school administrator. - Russo (2009), Federal courts in Michigan and Missouri rejected "the arguments of school officials that material on websites disrupted school activities in a way that permitted them to discipline students" (p. 952) - Postings that promote violence at school or against school staff do meet the Tinker standard for significant disruption as determined by Wisniewski v. Board of Educ. Weedsport Cent School Dist and J.S. v. Bethlehem Area School District ||< - Work with the school district to create a detailed and carefully worded computer use policy that includes consequences for noncompliance. Working with the district would allow for more detail, scrutiny, and legal advice to ensure that the policy would be enforceable. The policy and resulting consequences, once developed, would need to be clearly communicated to students, staff, and families. - Block access to social networking sites, personal email accounts, and the use of personal electronics (cell phones, PDAs) in school. - Increase supervision of students using computers ||< - When other students are being effected by the speech, what obligation does the school have to protect them? ||< - students will always make fun of teachers with rumors, opinions, and funny pictures. sometimes we also need to laugh at ourselves and let them laugh at us. I agree with the courts so far, in that unless it causes a disruption in school, it should not be disciplined ||< - the inconsistency of the different courts in regards to technology issues made it difficult to determine which way this would go. ||
 * < ===Team Member=== ||< ===**The following free speech issues are involved in this case:**=== ||< ===The following types of postings on sites merit punishment by the school:=== ||< ===As a principal, I would take the following actions:=== ||< ===I still have the following questions about the case and/or laws related to the case:=== ||< ===I'd like to add the following thoughts about the case:=== ||< ===I faced the following challenges in analyzing this case:=== ||
 * < Ellen ||< Voicing opinion in a public forum ||< - Libel: If the information written, such as rumors,is presented as fact, not opinion, the student may be committing libel
 * < Tara ||< a student's right to freely express their opinions

do the students action cause substantial disruption of the school environment? ||< libel- statements of defamation in writing (p. 436)

noncompliance with computer usage policy, also in some jurisdictions, cell phone use is prohibited during school hours

The Tinker standard asserts that even if misconduct occurs outside of school, officials can discipline students if their actions could have materially and substantially interfered with school activities. ||< agreed- block all social networking sites on school computers

educate students about slander and libel and the limitations they have regarding free speech

provide venues for students to freely express their opinions - course evaluations? student surveys? ||< If the staff member didn't know about the sites, then they may not be hurt in any way- if they actively seek information about what the students are posting, then it appears that they would be invading some level of student privacy ||< The statements that the students are posting need to be proved harmful to the staff in order for them to be considered libel. I think this could be difficult to prove in many cases. ||<  || Work to create a comprehensive and collaboratively created policy for computer use at the school level which covered staff and student use with consequences for infractions that will be actively enforced. I would seek district and legal counsel in creating this. - an educational piece on appropriate use of the internet and computer at the school level is key -I would block and publish information stating that the use of social networks during and on school grounds is not permitted. -student based leadership forms should be created so all students are to freely express opinions and suggestions about the school. A response form for the school should also be made available to respond to student inquiry and request. ||< What about other sources of media exposure such as tv or print? Are the new roles and rules of internet technology following these or are the completely different? What if the student who posted the info is not the student on whose page or post it appears and it was done without their knowledge many students passwords are not confidential is their any protection for a uninvolved student technologically but not ethically responsible for the content of the posting? ||< Todays students use the media to express their thoughts in the same way that students of yesterday passed notes around the school ect. We must carefully judge the intent of all situations, the damage done, and the possibility of repeat instances of these actions. Students have to understand who broad the media is and that expressing some ideas and emotions which often change from day to day in this format are not easily altered in who they can and have reached with the information. Teaching students to wait think, and consider the bigger picture as well as establish specific character and virtue applications that can govern their actions is very key. ||< It is easy to see that when we are studying technology guidelines that we are reading a book that is currently being written. It will be very important as a modern principal to stay current and connected to sources that will provide information as case law is being established about this issue. ||
 * < Autumn ||< A students right to free speech in a public setting ||< If the information is presented as such that is disruptive and it presents rumors or threats as facts or misleads them to be made as they damage the school it could be libel on the part of the student. [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/editor/insert_table.gif width="1"]] ||< I would take the following steps as principal:
 * < Stacy ||< The rights of students to express opinions in a public forum ||< Libel on the part of students

Behaviors that disrupt the normal flow of business in a school day-- using the findings in Tinker as a guide

Non-compliance with school policies related to social networking ||< * have social networking sites blocked on school computers.
 * ensure that written policies reflect expectations related to social networking during school hours, consulting with the county and the county's legal councel to ensure compliance.
 * charge teachers with infusing lessons about digital responsibility into the already developed character education curriculum.
 * ensure that adults know parameters related to social networking, including that they should not be visiting the sites of minors-- especially those in our school
 * create a safe venue for students to express concerns to perhaps minimize the need for them to post on-line ||< Does the system have a policy about the use of personal technology during the school day?

How would staff even know about the statements in a first-hand way if they weren't looking on the pages of their students? Is there a policy about that?

Who defines "disruptive"? In Weisnewski, having information on the internet isn't in-and-of itself disruptive. ||< Children have been talking about teachers behind their backs for centuries. The issue now is that it's so public and readily available, and that children don't always have the social or emotional maturity manage the amount of information they can access or they can output. ||< I'm very aware of a need to balance structure and control with teaching children how to be digitally responsible, 21st Century Learners. ||  =__Team Consensus/Summary:__=