teachers have "an expectation of pivacy" in the classroom?

[vaskidmark]

http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/03/florida-school-suspends-11-year-old-girl-for-video-recording-teacher-threatening-to-hurt-other-student/

An 11-year-old Florida girl was suspended from school after she recorded her fifth-grade teacher threatening and bullying other students.

The evidence Brianna Cooper recorded was enough to get the teacher fired from Samuel Gaines Academy in Fort Pierce, about two hours north of Miami.

But administrators say it was also enough to earn the student a five-day suspension.

After all, they claim, the teacher, had an expectation of privacy in the classroom.*

But how much privacy can a public school teacher expect in a large class filled with students, most of them carrying smart phones?

Do not get caught up in the red herring about kids carrying smart phones.

A school is a public place (although there may be some hoops to jump through to gain admittance).

Teachers are state agents.*

Teachers teaching in a public school are state agents performing their duty in a public place.*

I'm going to guess the teacher thought she was performing some teacherly duty such as trying to maintain/regain discipine.*

I'm not going to get into  the legal concept of the duty of a citizen to report official misconduct and present all the available evidence they have for making a charge of misconduct.

Cooper says she gave the recording to a teacher. Then, she says she was called to the principal’s office and suspended.
Faulkner says the school told her recording the audio without the teacher knowing is against the law.

Wonder how much they will settle for when they realize that 1) the Florida wiretap law is not applicable; and 2) taking thje video is not against the law.

 

stay safe.

eta - FL law on wiretapping explained at http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/florida-recording-law 

* Note the "Florida law makes an exception for in-person communications when the parties do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the conversation, such as when they are engaged in conversation in a public place where they might reasonably be overheard" exception to the 2-party structure.

[Boomhauer]

Expectation of privacy my ass...

[Hawkmoon]

A teacher interacting with one or two students in front of twenty other students does not spell "expectation of privacy" to me.

I think Skid's analysis is pretty much spot on.

[Perd Hapley]

   Nice try, Gaines Academy.

[RoadKingLarry]

It's kind of scary to think that so many blithering idiots have been charged with educating the children of this country.

[wmenorr67]

Hope the court system comes down hard on the district, the principal, and the teacher.

[TechMan]

I kind of hope that the ACLU picks this up, for the student.


ETA: for the student.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

I hope if they do it's not on the teachers side


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[HankB]

Hope the court system comes down hard on the district, the principal, and the teacher.

Hopefully, there will be personal negative consequences for the principal.

[T.O.M.]

Expectation of privacy in a classroom full of students.  Now that's funny.   

Sounds like someone once sat in part of a class on legal issues in schools, and fell asleep halfway through.  heard the phrase "expectation of privacy," not sure what it really means, so just throw it out there and look smart...



or not.

[TechMan]

I hope if they do it's not on the teachers side


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That's what I meant, ETA for clarification.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

It's a crap shoot it's the ACLU after all.


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[Pb]

I personally think all public school classrooms should be taped, and fully accessible to the parents via live web streaming.

[roo_ster]

I personally think all public school classrooms should be taped, and fully accessible to the parents via live web streaming.

Two cameras:

1. On instructor, available to all to see.

2. On students, blocked for the most part due to them being (for hte most part) minors.

[lupinus]

Morons. Blithering morons