Changes to Seattle students’ rights
Aug 19, 2010, 4:54 AM | Updated: Mar 28, 2011, 3:46 pm
Seattle public school students who put things on their MySpace or Facebook pages that somehow disrupt the school day – be warned – the district can go after you.
The school board last night approved the 45-page “Student Rights and Responsibilities” handbook (approved changes are highlighted in yellow).
Board member Harium Martin-Morris called it a routine update. “We haven’t really changed much from last year to this year,” he says.
As part of the change, the district gave itself the right to “respond to off-campus student speech” if it has an impact on the school day and student learning. Off-campus speech includes texting and posts to social media sites.
One example:
The District retains the right to respond to off campus student speech that includes using electronic means to set up or arrange a fight, such as, but not limited to, texting, Facebook, MySpace or other social Internet sites, if the fight occurs or is to occur on school grounds, or just before or after the school day.
Those who signed up to testify at last night’s meeting about student rights, instead they used the opportunity to talk about how students have a right to great teachers and they discussed proposed changes to the way teachers are evaluated.
UPDATE: ACLU attorneys are reviewing the changes to the Seattle Student Rights and Responsibilitites handbook regarding off-campus speech.
