States

ACLU Challenges Expulsion for Cellphone Use

September 01, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The American Civil Liberties Union has taken up the case of a middle school student who was expelled from his Mississippi school after using his cellphone in a class. In a lawsuit against the DeSoto County School District and several school officials, the ACLU claims Richard Wade’s constitutional rights were violated during the 2008 incident at Southaven Middle School, when he was 12.

Richard violated school policy when he took out his phone during gym class to read a text message from his father. After school officials took the phone they searched its photo files, according to the lawsuit. School leaders concluded that some photos Richard had of himself stored on the phone showed “gang-related activity.” The student said they were simply photos he took of himself dancing in his bathroom.

The 7th grade honors student was expelled for a year. The lawsuit charges that Richard’s constitutional protection against unnecessary search and seizure and his free speech rights were violated. The district, in a statement, said: “Students know that if they break the rules, their cellphone will be confiscated and that school officials reserve the right to look through the cellphone to see if they were cheating on a test or conducting illegal activities related to gangs or drugs.”

Here’s some coverage of the incident from the Commercial Appeal, which drew nearly 100 comments from readers.

The ACLU, which is asking that the incident be cleared from Richard’s academic and disciplinary records, issued a statement this week:

“This is a case where an honor student was expelled from school because a police officer and school officials decided without any basis that innocent pictures of a kid dancing conveyed ‘gang-related’ messages,” said Reginald T. Shuford, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program. “School officials and the police officer involved never pointed to anything that would suggest that pictures of Richard dancing were linked to a gang in any way.”

Related Tags:

A version of this news article first appeared in the Digital Education blog.

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

States School Chaplain Bills Multiply, Stirring Debate on Faith-Based Counseling
Proponents say school chaplains could help address a mental health crisis. Opponents raise concerns about religious coercion.
6 min read
Image of a bible sitting on top of a school backpack.
Canva
States What's on the K-12 Agenda for States This Year? 4 Takeaways
Reading instruction, private school choice, and teacher pay are among the issues leading governors' K-12 education agendas.
6 min read
Gov. Brad Little provides his vision for the 2024 Idaho Legislative session during his State of the State address on Jan. 8, 2024, at the Statehouse in Boise.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little outlines his priorities during his State of the State address before lawmakers on Jan. 8, 2024, at the capitol in Boise.
Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman via AP
States Q&A How Districts Can Navigate Tricky Questions Raised by Parents' Rights Laws
Where does a parent's authority stop and a school's authority begin? A constitutional law scholar weighs in.
6 min read
Illustration of dice with arrows and court/law building icons: conceptual idea of laws and authority.
Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock/Getty
States What 2024 Will Bring for K-12 Policy: 5 Issues to Watch
School choice, teacher pay, and AI will likely dominate education policy debates.
7 min read
The U.S. Capitol is seen in Washington, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. President Joe Biden on Tuesday night will stand before a joint session of Congress for the first time since voters in the midterm elections handed control of the House to Republicans.
The rising role of artificial intelligence in education and other sectors will likely be a hot topic in 2024 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, as well as in state legislatures across the country.
Mariam Zuhaib/AP