Can a school legally hold my step daughters phone for a cash penalty for having her phone out in cla
- Thread Starter BTI1969
- Start date
A fine. Sure. Pull out the student handbook and see what it states regarding inappropriate use of cell phones...It will likely tell you that there is some type of fine. How much are they asking for? (BTW: She won't learn the lesson if you pay the fine for her)
mightymoose
Moderator
I have never heard of a public school collecting cash fines for any offense.
A parent should go to the school and demand it be returned immediately.
Once the parent has it let the child earn it back.
A parent should go to the school and demand it be returned immediately.
Once the parent has it let the child earn it back.
KatDini
Well-Known Member
Two words: Library fines.
Tax Counsel
Well-Known Member
Public or private school? What is the policy of the school on cell phones in school? Is a fine expressly provided for in that policy? What does it say about taking and holding the phone until the fine is paid?
I have. As KatDini noted, library fines are but one example. A lot depends on what policies the school has in place and whether it is a public or private school. The parent could go and demand the phone back without paying the fine, but whether the school must honor that demand depends on factors we don't know. The kid might learn something by having to pay the fine himself/herself to get it back. Sometimes parents have to let kids handle these things themselves. I'm dismayed by the extent to which a lot parents today go to protect their kids from anything they see as negative with the result that we get young adults who feel entitled to everything and are unprepared for the real world where everything is not fair and where they have to fight their own battles.
mightymoose
Moderator
I guess I have been out of school too long. I never knew school libraries to collect fines. They just wouldn't allow you to check out more books until you returned them.
Of course, at the end of the year books not returned did have to be paid for.
Anyway... Fines for disciplinary issues, that seems very unusual to me.
Of course, at the end of the year books not returned did have to be paid for.
Anyway... Fines for disciplinary issues, that seems very unusual to me.
It's really not. If my child (Senior in HS) were to be caught with her cell, she would be monetarily punished like the OP's situation. Pay the fine or you don't get your phone back till school lets out. She understands this and knows that if she violates the school policy SHE will be paying to get it back. Personally I love the policy.
