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Later, the school demanded she hand over the passwords to both her Facebook account and her private email account. Why? Because a male classmate’s mother complained to the school that her son and the girl had been talking about sex.
What did the girl do? She sued.
At the beginning of this month, a U.S. district judge ruled that the school had violated the First Amendment (protecting free speech) and the Fourth Amendment (protecting against unreasonable search and seizure, or privacy). The judge declared that punishment for things said on social networks violates free speech unless what is said poses a safety risk or creates a substantial disruption of the school environment. Further, the judge decided that private emails and Facebook messages, like letters, are just that—private—and cannot be searched without reason, or without an attempt to minimize the intrusion.
While the court is still looking into the veracity of the girl’s claims, if her side of the story checks out, the school will probably end of paying her a settlement. Regardless, the judge’s ruling stands: punishing students for posts on social networks and requiring a student to supply social media and email passwords and then searching their accounts is a civil rights violation.
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BY BRITTANY TAYLOR ON 9/17/2012 4:13:00 PM
POSTED IN In the News, social media,
OMG! That story is horrible, and that judge must not like her. I feel calling someone mean isn't bullying it is expressing yourself and freedom of speech.
by Murrr14 on 12/27/2012 8:53:33 PM
Wow.Its one thing if she was hating on another student,but because of a teacher?She should have only got a detention for cussing out people,because that's kinda rude,but suspension and having to give out the passwords for a FB account and email?Thats wrong.
by rainbowssparklesdesu on 11/23/2012 3:54:08 PM
You go girl!!! I would be to scared, but I would want to do the same thing. Anyway, it isnt the moms responsibility that the girl and her son were having those conversations. That had nothing whatsoever to do with her or the school. That doesnt mean that they can make her give up her personal things. MESSED UP!!! Okay, I am blabbering on and on, so I will just say that I agree with the girl.
by MountainLover456 on 11/20/2012 8:50:53 PM
you go girl
by pandasrock292 on 9/30/2012 12:38:14 PM
that is not bullying the hall moniter is the bully here. the school made her give up her pass. UNFAIR
by pandasrock292 on 9/30/2012 12:01:22 PM
ive been bullied and that is not bulying
by kewauneegal on 9/21/2012 10:52:58 PM
What? It is so wrong for her school to force her to give over passwords and information. Its true she probably shouldnt have said she hated the hall monitor but what she did was about what we all do. And talking about sex, as long as she wasnt posting pictures, its kind of normal to do at our age. Way over reacting. I am glad she won.
by fashionqn on 9/19/2012 1:30:11 PM
You cannot talk trash about people online especially teachers. I do not think they "violated her privacy". It is probably a school rule that you cannot talk about students and teachers online. Saying mean things about people online is BULLYING! I do not care if it was at school or not. If we bully people online at my school we can get into trouble also. I think it is ridiculous they are taking this to court. So what you get suspended for a few days, you violated a school rule. I love how people get all mad when they hear about online bullying but then support articles like this. If you cannot be civil on a social networking site you should lose your privileges to it. It is a a privilege, not a right. I think people are too wrapped up in all this constitutional rights stuff. We get that you have rights but you are taking it to the extreme. Are you seriously going to sue over a stupid Facebook password!
by angrybirds99 on 9/19/2012 12:31:39 AM
first of all... she is violating the terms on facebook by having a facebook at age 12, but that aside i don't think she should have posted that on facebook in the first place but I do think that the school definately crossed a line when they gave her detention and iss. Thtat being said i diont think that calling someone mean once should be called bullying. There are to many bad things in this world to be having something this small have to be taken to court.
by IDKBoys on 9/19/2012 12:02:54 AM
@Glitterheart16 Agreed!
by awesomegirl4everandalways on 9/18/2012 8:21:53 PM
Saying someone is mean is not bullying unless they are changing the post so they wont curse on the site but if all she said was mean then its not bullying! How would a mother of a boy in her class now that they were talking about sex it makes no sense they wouldn't need evidence from her things if the boy had the conversations on his social sites for cell phone. this article is not very descriptive at all i wish i could now what really happened to write a more acurate comment.
by colie34720 on 9/18/2012 8:06:17 PM
There is NO reason whatsoever that the school should intervene. What happens outside of school, stays outside of school. Legally, they cannot punish her for what happens outside of school. They violated the Privacy Protection law and Freedom of speech! If anything the school should be shut down
by YayaYuiki on 9/18/2012 7:40:07 PM
This girl is twelve??!! Dang...
by immawriter on 9/18/2012 6:47:26 PM
calling someone mean doesnt count as bullying but im sure she didn't just say the hall monitor was mean. and cursing is just wrong in general. if you feel like you have to, fine, but the stupidest thing to do would be to put it online. talk about it to one of your friends, but never ever ever online. i'm sure she'll have a hard time getting into college just because of this incident. even if you delete the post, people can look up what you posted on certain websites. why didn't her mom punish her, or take away her account? it's not the school's job to do all the punishing
by bunnehz on 9/18/2012 5:32:45 PM
I think as long as she's not hurting/ threatening anybody they gave no reason to punish her, also, calling somebody mean isn't bullying if they actually were mean to you.
by sarabieber1799 on 9/18/2012 8:44:43 AM
I def agree with Browniej12
by ceahorse on 9/18/2012 7:17:26 AM
I agree with Glitterheart! I believe that if she THREATENED a person (if she said she would seek revenge on someone), then the school could intervene. However, since it's most likely that no one's life was in danger, what she did was her own business. Stupid maybe? Yes, but that was her foolish decision to post every single thought on the internet.
by Browniej12 on 9/17/2012 8:58:35 PM
The girl was being very disrespectful BUT getting her Facebook password? That's terrible! They have no right to look at her conversations.
by NeverSayNeverGirl on 9/17/2012 8:56:20 PM
On one hand the girl was acting very respectful. No 12 year old should be cussing out her classmates online, or talking of sex, that is just out of line! But still, her school doesn't have control of what she says online. I personally think her PARENTS should have been the ones to be there to call her out, not the school! What right do they have?
by Glitterheart16 on 9/17/2012 8:37:01 PM
And @helloimawkward1, there ARE laws against cyberbullying.
by kenzi143 on 9/17/2012 8:22:06 PM
Ya know what? The school is acting ridiculous! I understand that she shouldn't have posted that on facebook, and it IS cyberbullying. To confront her is okay. But you know what? You should see what most high schoolers write on facebook. Frankly, the school shouldn't be snooping her FB anyways, I mean talk about stalker-ish! The mom of the boy is C-R-A-Z-Y to talk to the school. If you really think it's a problem, talk to the girls' parents', not the school! And also, your email is private, giving them your password is just crazy. She's a 12 year old girl for gosh's sake, what do you think she talks about with her girlfriends? Or what about a private email to mom? No, you can't see that, school, it's none of ur business!!!!
by WinnieGirlie on 9/17/2012 8:21:55 PM
Okay, let's all talk about this like civilized people. It wasn't right for this girl to be hating on people publicly, and if she's cussing someone out she obviously has done it before (you don't go from an innocent 12 year old to a trolling, cussing young girl). However, it IS a violation of rights, and talking about sex? In middle school? Middle schoolers are GOING to talk about sex, whether it's a rumor of a older kid or a joke, it's going to happen everywhere. Both sides are doing wrong, and maybe hopefully the 12 year old can get rid of the sailor mouth and learn her lesson, along with the school's administrators.
by kenzi143 on 9/17/2012 8:20:51 PM
I don't think something should be counted as bullying if the person is not offending or hurting that other person's feelings in any way intentionally. Calling someone mean should never be counted as bullying is the person has a good reason to call them that. Bullying is the intentional act of etiher physically or emotionally hurting someone again and again and that is not it.
by girly_girl123 on 9/17/2012 7:59:22 PM
That school is highly disrespectful. That girl was smart. The school had no right to ask for her Facebook passwords. She could go to another school for all they cared and they still would hunt her down. They cannot ask for private information because it is a basic Internet safety rule. The staff or students could find it and start putting up mean Facebook post. Who would they blame? The girl, of course. I hope she wins the case. I know what she said was kind of disrespectful but it was not bullying. Maybe the hall monitor was bullying her. We may never know now.
by transform2314 on 9/17/2012 7:58:06 PM
I think this case could have and should have been avoided; since bullying has become such a huge issue, schools have been trying to eliminate bullying, but they are overreacting to what does and does not constitute as bullying. Calling someone "mean" does not count as bullying. I think my school should be able to decide what's OK and what's not OK for students to post on social networks.
by otter77 on 9/17/2012 7:35:18 PM
Thats ridiculous..and kinda creepy. If my school kept snooping around my business, i would be totally creeped out...
by BBMarie on 9/17/2012 7:31:31 PM
I think she was being very rude. Because she was talking about someone in her school it is considered bullying and the school should definitely know about it. This girl is a mean little girl and deserves to be punished. No matter the cost.
by way2qt4u on 9/17/2012 7:18:46 PM
but i still think it's a bit nosy for the school to take her email and facebook. she just should've gotten a very serious discusion and maybe a detention,just depends what she said
by helloimawkward1 on 9/17/2012 7:18:38 PM
I'm actually watching the movie Cyberbully right now,and i think that they should make a law against cyberbullying. But the thing is,it depends on whats being said. if it's enough to make someone kill themselves,you know it's bad.
by helloimawkward1 on 9/17/2012 7:15:35 PM
I don't think that what the school did was right. The girl's punishment is for her family to decide. Schools have no right to control what students say and do while they are not on campus and demanding passwords is just an invasion of the girl's privacy.
by softballgurl37 on 9/17/2012 6:52:38 PM
@_Sadie_ She didn't make a mistake. It might have been a bit rude to post that about the hall monitor, but honestly the school was being nosy and punishing her for something she did at home! It wasn't nice of her, I'll give you that, but it has nothing to do with the school! Then they were demanding her passwords?!?! NONE of their business and she had every right to sue them. I think what the school did was terrible and it makes me happy that I don't have to go to school like THAT.
by LovePeaceHope on 9/17/2012 6:45:45 PM
by music191 on 9/17/2012 6:25:45 PM
Well she should NOT have posted hate but the school should not hae vilated amendments. But c'mon? the girls sus the school for her OWN mistakes?
by _Sadie_ on 9/17/2012 6:01:37 PM
I think they shouldn't take away her email and stuff but I think she should stop talking about sex I mean shes 12 I'm not having sex until I'm married. The facebook prob. Why do they need her fb pass?
by Gracie206 on 9/17/2012 5:50:55 PM
The school has no right to ask for her facebook and email passwords. Her email is her email and they have no right to search it. Unless she posted the things at school the school really shouldn't be even checking her facebook posts. She can say what she wants and her parents allow online. Saying someone is mean doesn't count as bullying. It's her oppinion and she can state it if she wants to. But there are times when you should keep your opinion to yourself though.
by luvmonkey1313 on 9/17/2012 5:38:34 PM
Okay, this girl sounds like a git, but really? Why are they on a 12-year-old girl's facebook?
by iluvmusic♥ on 9/17/2012 5:31:57 PM
this is just dumb.yeah it was mean to say the hall moniter was mean. but even if it was on facebook they should have just said that she shouldnt say it on facebook and just give her iss. not try to take her private info. if her and the boy where talking about nasties they should have taken it between the parents.the school shouldnt be involved with the stuff kids do on e mail
by bking62 on 9/17/2012 5:28:24 PM
She shouldn't have posted those mean messages, but I think the school took it a step too far
by myfatsquirrel on 9/17/2012 5:27:53 PM
The girl shouldn't have posted these things don't get me wrong. It was rude, disrespectful, and immature of her. This doesn't mean the school should be ripping her privilege of privacy and freedom of speech. Everyone has a right to speak their mind, respectful or not, and this girl shouldn't be deprived of this. A detention or even a suspension is understandable and I agree she should get the punishment if she cursed at at a kid online which is cyber-bullying. Taking this girl's Facebook username and password, and her private email is overboard. This girl's male classmate's mom could have lied or mixed her up with a different. Anyway she has a right to talk about whatever she wants. This isn't the school's concern. If anything it should be between her and her parents. I don't officially agree with suing the school, even thought what they did was wrong, but this girl's privacy was completely invaded and that is completely unnecessary. I feel bad for this girl who had to go through this.
by BabyDahl13 on 9/17/2012 4:49:21 PM
this is sooo stupid since when did the school start controlling what kids say out side of school. if it was a school laptop then MAYBE i could see the schools side but i think its totally out of line that they asked her for her facebook and private email
by luve2cheer on 9/17/2012 4:47:32 PM
First of all why was the school snooping around on her Facebook? I don't think they were reasonable at all! They shouldn't have the right to get her passwords. Don't you think if she said something about the hall monitor being rude to her that they should talk to the hall monitor too? I think they are being ridiculous.
by wenhua9 on 9/17/2012 4:40:38 PM
While i don't think that the girl should be doing that i don't agree with the school for punishing her for it. She has free speech whether the school likes it or not. It should be up to her family to decide if what she did was right or not. Asking for her account info is going way to far its her personal life and the school has no right to be going through it.
by myipodrox16 on 9/17/2012 4:30:03 PM
It is so not reasonable to ask for her passwords that's the polices job if needed to.
by hotchocolate808 on 9/17/2012 4:29:06 PM
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