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November 29, 2005
Student blogs catching controversyCan schools enforce restrictions on how students behave when they are not at school? Welcome to the modern age, where the Internet cares little about such distinctions. "As parents wring their hands about Internet predators, many teens are worried about a different kind of online intruder: the school principal," reports the Wall Street Journal:
Schools around the country have wrestled with how to deal with students' online writings, and the debate has spilled from classrooms to courtrooms. So far, there is little legal consensus on the circumstances in which schools are authorized to punish students for their blogging, according to Thomas H. Clarke Jr., a lawyer in San Francisco with Ropers, Majeski, Kohn & Bentley who focuses on First Amendment issues.He noted that a handful of courts have examined cases in which schools disciplined students for off-campus writings, taking into account factors such as whether the student published threats against the school or other students, and whether the materials were accessed on campus by students or administrators. While some courts have ruled against schools that tried to punish students for their Web sites -- even when the content was vulgar or threatening -- others have decided that online writings can be subject to school restrictions. "The courts are all over the place. Trying to find consistency among all these different rules and opinions is extraordinarily difficult," Mr. Clarke said. ...
School officials say they are forced to deal with students' personal Web sites because often students are writing about each other or their teachers. Blogging has became a part of daily life for many students. About four million teens — or 19% of 12- to 17-year olds who use the Internet — have created a blog, according to a study published in November by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Something called the Electronic Legal Foundation, "a digital rights advocacy group in San Francisco," has published a legal guide for student bloggers, that at times seems less than adequate. Creating a more serious set of guidelines on this type of issue for both schools and students should be a serious priority.
Posted November 29, 2005 10:58 AM | Education Technology
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