Call Me Maybe? Cell Phone Privacy in 21st Century Education

Teachers, let's be honest... If we were paid a dollar for every cell phone that we have, or should have confiscated during schools hours then we could probably retire a few years early!

Despite the hyperbole, confiscating a student's cell phone can be an incredibly serious legal matter- especially when we are faced with the possibility of having to search the contents of the student's phone.

So what does the law say on this issue? Unfortunately, there is no specific law on the books involving students and their cell phones, but the Supreme Court has given some guidelines on this issue. In 2014, the High Court decided in Riley v. California that police cannot automatically search the cell phones of the motorists whom they arrest. Although this case does not directly involve students, it is widely believed that this ruling would protect the fourth amendment rights of students who use cell phones in schools. However, this ruling would only protect students' cell phone privacy when the student is in trouble for a non-cell phone related issue. As a result, it looks like schools just can't search the phones of every trouble maker in the school- and this is probably a good thing!

But what about when the student is in trouble for using their cell phone? The courts are a lot less clear about this situation... So here are three scenarios, and you tell me what you think...

Scenario A: You are walking down the hallway and see Johnny texting. School policy clearly states students are not allowed to text during school hours. Are you allowed to take Johnny's phone and search though his messages to see who he was texting?

Scenario B: You are walking down the hallway and see Johnny, a student of yours, looking at a picture of the test is he supposed to take next period in your class. You take his phone, but can you search through his messages to see who sent him the image?

Scenario C: You are walking down the hall and see Johnny using his phone, but you can't tell what he id doing. School rules allow you to confiscate his phone. Can you search the phone to see what he was doing?

***Take the poll and share your thoughts in the comments section***


A good read: Supreme Court cellphone-search ruling sends a cautionary message to schools by Frank LoMonte