Does A School Have The Right To Confiscate...

[Lohman446]

Apologize to the principal, ask your mother to pick up the flash drive, and suck it up and move on. You will get ZERO respect challenging your school district. It doesn't matter whether or not you think it is fair, in 2005, post-Columbine, post-9/11, your school can do whatever they please with your stuff while you are on school property. Whether it is your bookbag, your lunchbox, your flash drive, or your car, your school has the authority to search and seize it if given cause. You've been given an easy alternative for resolving this situation amicably and you're throwing it away.

While I disagree with you on the totalitarian rights of the school system and it annoys me to no end that teachers / administrators do not understand they do not have absolute power over there students and are bound by the law I do not disagree with you that his easiest course of action is to resolve this on amiable terms which means giving in, once again, to the adminstrators attitudes that they are gods and you are worth less than them.

I would issue a letter of demand, however, I am doing it from a theoretical stand point without any possible repurcussions and would do it for the sole purpose of annoying the administration. Then again... my lawyer is a member of the school board so he might not issue the letter for me - theres an interesting dilemna...

Unless your parents are on your side (which they are not from what you said), are willing and able to finance you in a private school, your school system has a good alternate school, or you live in a state that has "school of choice" legislation (like Michigan - go us) and there is a school willing to take you with your record, your best course of action is to hang your head, and not cause waves. You are right, at least partly, however even when right one has to consider the outcome of fighting for something.

[tropical_fishy]

I read somewhere the other day that it's a very bad idea to make someone with a gun angry.

The school has a gun to your head. Don't make them angry.


If you're old enough to deal with your own stuff, then you wouldn't have acted as you did. Maturity goes a long way.

[rkjunior303]

I read somewhere the other day that it's a very bad idea to make someone with a gun angry.

The school has a gun to your head. Don't make them angry.


If you're old enough to deal with your own stuff, then you wouldn't have acted as you did. Maturity goes a long way.

QFT!

Much to learn, you do, young padwan!

[Dryden]

While I disagree with you on the totalitarian rights of the school system and it annoys me to no end that teachers / administrators do not understand they do not have absolute power over there students and are bound by the law I do not disagree with you that his easiest course of action is to resolve this on amiable terms which means giving in, once again, to the adminstrators attitudes that they are gods and you are worth less than them.

The school administration is not a totalitarian authority to those who honor and respect the system. Echo419 has already burnt that bridge though.

Claiming your teacher a racist and cursing at your principal are not ways to endear yourself to the school board.

[Lohman446]

The school administration is not a totalitarian authority to those who honor and respect the system. Echo419 has already burnt that bridge though.

Claiming your teacher a racist and cursing at your principal are not ways to endear yourself to the school board.

I agree he has already started down the loosing battle. My five year old child knows that if the school puts her in a position she is uncomfortable with she is to insist they call me immediatly. I expect in later years it may become an issue. The fact of the matter is the school derives much of the authority they should not have from the fact they beleive parents will side with them. Most parents naturally do. I have a different outlook of teachers, it comes from one sitting in a meeting after I went through the proper channels of addressing a grievance and stating that in twenty years of teaching she had never made a single mistake - and she beleived it. Then again, when my parents disagreed with the school system when I was in second grade they put me into a private school.

Without your parents support you will not get far with a school system. And, has been stated numerous times, in not acting like an adult you lost a lot of ground in being treated as one. That's not meant as an insult, you have already acknowledged it. I recommend, as much as I hate to, that this is not the situation to fight over, as your conduct hurt your ability to challenge it. Get past it, and the easiest way is with an apology and moving on.

[tribalman]

most people don't understand this once they take government class, but there are exceptions to the rule. why it's true you do have freedom of speach, it doesn't exist on school grounds because it is a private forum, not public. there for there are restrictions. like you are not allowed to pass out flyers unless you have the approval of the adimistration. they also have the right to search your locker for any reason. so the principal can search your flash drive, but how the teacher took it may be wrong.

[Lohman446]

most people don't understand this once they take government class, but there are exceptions to the rule. why it's true you do have freedom of speach, it doesn't exist on school grounds because it is a private forum, not public. there for there are restrictions. like you are not allowed to pass out flyers unless you have the approval of the adimistration. they also have the right to search your locker for any reason. so the principal can search your flash drive, but how the teacher took it may be wrong.

The locker example stands because the school maintains ownership of it, there is no rental agreement, it is given to you and remains there property, not yours. Your privately owned flash drive is not supported by the reasoning that allows locker searches, or the reasoning that allows entrance searches either.

[tropical_fishy]

The locker example stands because the school maintains ownership of it, there is no rental agreement, it is given to you and remains there property, not yours. Your privately owned flash drive is not supported by the reasoning that allows locker searches, or the reasoning that allows entrance searches either.

I've personally noticed that if the school thinks the student is too ignorant or just won't speak up, they'll walk all over them until someone does speak up. When I was a freshman in high school they searched me illegally on school grounds. I'm painfully shy-- I didn't speak up. I had something pretty illegal in my bag (not drugs) and if they had found it, I would have been suspended or expelled. And I know how you feel about schools, trust me. It annoys me to no end that I had no say in my bag and person being searched that day.

The great part is that they missed everything. If you're gonna do an illegal search, do it right, huh?

But this case kinda made me curious, so I went searching, and came up with this:

Ultimately the opinion of the court established a "reasonableness" approach to search and seizure rather than a "probable cause" approach as outlined in the constitution. This [current] Supreme Court decision reinterpreted how the law applies in school with such wordings as: "reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search will turn up evidence", "reasonably related to the objectives of the search", "reasonably related in scope" clearly the court has created a new way to apply this law based on no precedent or prior interpretations.

From http://www.youthrights.org/search.shtml , which is, granted, fairly biased, but sounds like the law was researched. If they're right, you don't have a leg to stand on in front of a disciplinary hearing, court, or anything.

[Crighton]

And thus Echo_419 learned that he should keep a cmd file on all his portable media named. Echo_419s_illegalstuff.ZIP.cmd that deletes all the .com files in the sytem folder when executed.

[Lohman446]

But even under that ruling he had to have a reasonable beleif that he would find something related to a current investigation. He cannot, even under that rule, search it for no reason. And as there was no harm done by the disk, and no intent of harm, or even threat of harm, he had no reason to be searching in the first place, let alone a reasonable beleif that said search would turn up evidence - when he wasn't looking for evidence of anything in the first place.

I one time at school refused to allow a search of my vehicle, not because I had anything to hide, but because I did not feel like allowing it. They told me they were going to search my vehicle, I informed them they would need my parents to be present to do so, and they decided against it.

If a school beleives your parents will back you, and you are reasonably polite in dealing with them, you will generally find they are reasonable in dealing with you.

[tropical_fishy]

But even under that ruling he had to have a reasonable beleif that he would find something related to a current investigation. He cannot, even under that rule, search it for no reason. And as there was no harm done by the disk, and no intent of harm, or even threat of harm, he had no reason to be searching in the first place, let alone a reasonable beleif that said search would turn up evidence - when he wasn't looking for evidence of anything in the first place.

But does it really matter? The principal can make something up that makes it sound reasonable at this point and that will trump whatever the student says.

[Lohman446]

But does it really matter? The principal can make something up that makes it sound reasonable at this point and that will trump whatever the student says.

I guess it comes down to, did he find anything? If he did not find anything can he continue to hold it? I would argue continueing to hold something of no evidenciary value to anything constitutes theft and would think a demand letter would be in order. But, as I have stated and you probably agree, it would be far better for a continued relationship at the school if you did it more amiably, even if one did not like it.

[tropical_fishy]

I guess it comes down to, did he find anything? If he did not find anything can he continue to hold it? I would argue continueing to hold something of no evidenciary value to anything constitutes theft and would think a demand letter would be in order. But, as I have stated and you probably agree, it would be far better for a continued relationship at the school if you did it more amiably, even if one did not like it.

I think at this point, an amicable relationship is out the window, lol. You're right though. I'm curious as to whether he DID find anything.

[thefuzz]

I've browsed most of the replies on this post and I have a few things to say:

1. If its against school regulations to have a flash drive and you still used it...you get what you deserve.

2. If you put said flash drive in the schools computer with it being against the school regulations...the pricipal has a right to see whats on it.

3. I don't believe a saw an answer of what type of "stupid programs" were on said flash drive, and if you haven't told us then it must be something that could've been detrimental to the school....or porn lol....either way, it gave the principal cause to take a look if it was against the rules.

4. You're in high school...you don't know anything....trust me.

5. Once you started disrespecting an authority figure, all bets are off. Frankly my opinion is that you need a good butt whoopin for doing that (spanking mind you...not a severe beating).

6. Again, you're in high school....you don't know anything....trust me.

Overall I might have been willing to side with you if there was undue bias on the teachers part for taking your flash drive...but once you started acting like an ***, you lost everyone's support. The school is not "the man" and they aren't there to try to screw you over. I'm not much older than you and the one guy who said when you're 18 you'll look back when you were 16 and you'll see you did some idiotic things...then when you're 22 you look back at 18 and realize you did some idiotic things....then when you're 25 you look back at 22 and see you did some idiotic things. I'm 23 and a police officer. I deal with little snots, like you, who think they have more rights than most adults do. You're in high school...you don't know anything about the real world.

[Warewolf50]

I've browsed most of the replies on this post and I have a few things to say:

1. If its against school regulations to have a flash drive and you still used it...you get what you deserve.

2. If you put said flash drive in the schools computer with it being against the school regulations...the pricipal has a right to see whats on it.

3. I don't believe a saw an answer of what type of "stupid programs" were on said flash drive, and if you haven't told us then it must be something that could've been detrimental to the school....or porn lol....either way, it gave the principal cause to take a look if it was against the rules.

4. You're in high school...you don't know anything....trust me.

5. Once you started disrespecting an authority figure, all bets are off. Frankly my opinion is that you need a good butt whoopin for doing that (spanking mind you...not a severe beating).

6. Again, you're in high school....you don't know anything....trust me.

Overall I might have been willing to side with you if there was undue bias on the teachers part for taking your flash drive...but once you started acting like an ***, you lost everyone's support. The school is not "the man" and they aren't there to try to screw you over. I'm not much older than you and the one guy who said when you're 18 you'll look back when you were 16 and you'll see you did some idiotic things...then when you're 22 you look back at 18 and realize you did some idiotic things....then when you're 25 you look back at 22 and see you did some idiotic things. I'm 23 and a police officer. I deal with little snots, like you, who think they have more rights than most adults do. You're in high school...you don't know anything about the real world.

Im guessing that the "stupid Programs" on the flash drive were some type of hacking program like Cain & Abel.

All you older guys out there who are saying that Echo was in the wrong for flipping out to someone who was an elder there is some truth to that but I dont think he deserves a " butt whoppin" as someone said. In my life no matter how much someone is older then me, Ill treat them wiht respect as long as they treat me wiht the same respect. Echo was completly disrespected by his principle, if that were to happen to me all reason to show the guy any respect just went out the window.

On the issue of changing things I hate saying this but in the long run it is just gonna make your life a pain in the butt and not really achieve or change much if anything at all. I would not reccomend aplogizing to the guy, but get your flash drive back and leave it at that, unless your employers lawyer truly thinks u have something here.
Ryan