From the Los Angles Times today, comes the story about the ruling of U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson. With a mind field of opinions, I worry about the impact it will have on students, teachers and parents. At the bottom of the discussion is an individual’s 1st amendment rights versus the moral tone of the school environment and administrators responsibilities to maintain order and protect students.
A brief recount of the article goes like this. A student teased in an online video that was posted outside the school boundaries brought her complaint to the school principal and the student who posted the video was suspended.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Evan Cohen, who is also her father, said the case highlighted the school district’s failure to realize the limits of its authority. (Ah – free legal advice)
If you read the whole story you will see that Judge Stephen Wilson ruled against the school district and why he ruled the way he did.
Is it another case of kids will be kids? Does cyberbullying have its limits? What is a school board left to do to protect the moral tone of a school? One would argue the Internet is just demonstrating human behaviour and we must learn to live with what life brings. For me this a really tough issue. Principals have to say that there is nothing they can do.
I sympathize with the child in the middle of this story. More people are witness to her pain. It makes it even harder to convince parents and teachers the wisdom of online communications.
