As it has become more common for middle school-age children – and even younger ones – to have their own mobile phones, schools, and school districts have responded by restricting their use in K-8 schools. Aside from the questions that many might have about what the “right” age is for a child to have a mobile phone, schools say they are interested in reducing the distractions that mobile phones can introduce when used by children at school. Many parents, however, are opposed to the restrictions, particularly ones that prohibit their children from having their phones with them during the school day.
Anytime a new school rule is added, it's almost a given that some students are going to break it. When they do, the school needs to determine how it's going to enforce its own policies. When that enforcement is uneven, unfair, or goes against the school's own policies, it's important to stand up to the school and defend your child. The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team has been doing that for years for K-8 students located all over the country. If your child is being unfairly disciplined for mobile phone policy violations or other disciplinary matters, call us at 888.535.3686 or use our online contact form to schedule a confidential consultation to learn more about how we can help.
Mobile Phone Regulations in K-8 Schools
Not too many years ago, it was unusual to see a child in grades K-8 carrying their own mobile phone. Now, it's increasingly common. According to one recent analysis, about 25% of children have mobile phones by the age of 11, and 75% have them by the age of 12-1/2. K-8 schools that in the past didn't have to worry about students with mobile phones found that more phones at school resulted in more potential for young students to be distracted during class.
In general, K-8 schools are more likely to ban mobile phone use during the school day than high schools, which may prohibit use during class time but allow it at lunch and during free periods. That said, policies vary widely, and it's important to have a clear understanding of what your child's school does and does not allow if your child has a mobile phone that you would normally allow them to bring to school.
The recent attention on mobile phone regulations in K-8 schools may be due to any number of factors, including:
- Educators' concerns that distractions caused by mobile phone use is a “major problem” in class
- A May 2023 advisory from the Surgeon General on the adverse effects that frequent use of social media can have on the mental health of children
- States that have introduced requirements – through laws, executive orders, or policies – that schools implement mobile phone restrictions
- Attention that has come from Congress and, as a result, the media on the access that young people have to social media
Not all parents are in favor of mobile phone bans or restrictions, even at the K-8 level. There are a variety of reasons parents cite as to why they have legitimate concerns about schools restricting the ability of their children to access or use their phones during the school day. These include:
- The need to be able to reach their child in an emergency
- Wanting to be able to know where their child is during the school day
- Coordinating transportation pickups from school, both after school and during the school day, for doctor and other types of appointments
- Knowing that they generally are able to contact their child during the school day
As a result, teachers, parents, and students can each find themselves in a difficult position when it comes to mobile phone restrictions in schools. Depending on the type of restriction in place, teachers may find them difficult to implement and police. Parents, on the other hand, may actively and vocally oppose a school policy that their children are expected to follow. The children are caught in the middle – being told by their school not to use their mobile phones and being told by their parents that they should be able to do so.
As a result, kids in grades K-8 may find themselves choosing between being in trouble at school versus being in trouble at home. And when they choose to follow their parents' wishes, they will also face school discipline as a result.
The Problem With School Discipline
Schools often fail to evenly or fairly apply their disciplinary policies. Teacher and staff may target certain students for enforcement, allowing other students off the hook for no particular reason. This is the case with all disciplinary policies, including mobile phone restrictions.
If your child has been singled out for punishment based on violating their school's mobile phone policy (or any other rule or regulation), contact the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team for help. Our experienced attorneys are familiar with how schools enforce their policies, as well as how they should enforce them. We're ready to defend your child and protect their rights, particularly where your child has been singled out for improper mobile phone use while other children who are using their phones in violation of school policy aren't.
Schools can unfairly discipline students in a number of ways. They can:
- Give different students different penalties for the same type of violation
- Impose stricter punishment than what is called for by school policy
- Single out one child for discipline while allowing others to “get away” with the same kind of conduct
- Treat a minor violation as a more serious one, or create a violation that isn't mentioned in the school's code of conduct and argue that the student should be disciplined for committing it
- Taking short-cuts around the disciplinary procedures that are part of the school's own written code of conduct
It's important when schools overreach like this to be working with an experienced student defense attorney, one who can point out to the school how it is failing to respect the student's rights and who can defend the student against the school's actions. Having an attorney on your side who can draw the school's attention to its own failings will help protect your child against them as well as alert the school that it should not try these kinds of tactics in the future. At the Lento Law Firm, our Student Defense Team knows how to protect the rights of our student clients and defend them in situations where their schools are unfairly attempting to impose sanctions on them.
Sanction Levels
Many schools maintain the same or similar types of sanctions for students in grades K-8 as they do for students in high school. With tens of thousands of schools in more than 13,000 school districts all across the country, it's not feasible to list all of the different types of school sanctions that might exist. At the Lento Law Firm, our Student Defense Team defends students from all across the country, and here are some typical types of sanctions we've come across:
- Verbal warnings. These are rarely serious, and we've all probably experienced having a teacher stop class to correct us when we were disrupting class or doing something we should not have been doing
- Confiscation of the mobile phone. In cases where the school prohibits mobile phones from being carried into classrooms, it's not unusual for teachers to confiscate the phone from the child until the end of the school day or, in some cases, until the parent comes to the school to retrieve it
- Warnings to parents. These can be verbal or written and may or may not appear on the student's school record
- Removal from the classroom. This can happen in more serious cases; the child is removed to a supervised area away from the classroom, and parents may be notified
- Detention. This is more likely to happen to students in the higher grades, but even younger students may be required to spend recess time in the school cafeteria or serve some other similar penalty for misbehavior
- Suspension from extracurricular activities. This is more usual for high school students, but in the higher grades of K-8, there may be activities such as band, chorus, or athletics that the school can suspend the student from participating in for a period of time
- In-school suspension. Students may be removed from the regular classroom setting and required to spend all or part of the school day in a supervised area of the school
- Suspension. This can be short- or long-term, during which period the student is not allowed to be at school at all, except possibly for designated times to collect necessary learning materials
- Expulsion. This is the worst-case scenario and very unusual for a student in grades K-8; in most cases, expulsions need to be approved at a high level (school board, superintendent)
Many schools have adopted a more educational approach to discipline, and my also direct the child to participate in workshops or meet with counselors to discuss the reasons for their misconduct and try to help the student change their behavior.
Many of these punishments do not require a hearing; the more serious types generally do. While mobile phone policy violations are generally not considered serious ones, it's possible that a student who is accused of a number of different types of misconduct, including cell phone misuse, could find themselves facing a hearing and potentially serious penalties. And of course it's not unheard of for a student who is repeatedly disciplined, even for minor violations of school policies, to be informally labeled by teachers and school administrators as a "troublemaker" – a tag that that can stick and can affect how the student interacts with the school for years to come.
In cases of more serious forms of alleged misconduct, the school will typically conduct an investigation before moving forward with any sort of disciplinary hearing. The investigation will usually be performed by a member of the school staff, who may or may not have any training in proper investigatory techniques. The school investigator may also introduce their own prejudices or beliefs about the accused student into the process. This can result in less-than-thorough investigations that unfairly gather only evidence against the student and disregard evidence that could be used to defend the student against the allegation.
This is why, in some cases, the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team will conduct our own investigation into the allegations against the student we are defending. We often find evidence and witnesses that were “missed” by the school's investigator that can be used to defend against the misconduct allegations. Often, we'll bring this evidence to the attention of the school as we seek to negotiate a favorable resolution to the misconduct charges. And when the school appears to be unfairly labeling a child who is repeatedly disciplined, we frequently will go to bat for the student and remind school officials of their obligations to treat all students fairly.
Disciplinary Hearings
In many cases, serious school disciplinary matters are resolved with an agreement between the accused student and the school. This can often be the best way to go because it provides certainty for both sides and can be based on negotiations where the school learns about evidence that its investigator failed to uncover or about procedures that the school should have followed but failed to.
In the unusual case that does proceed to a hearing, the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team has the experience and resources to vigorously defend your child against the allegations made against them. We will make arguments to the hearing panel on their behalf, introduce any helpful evidence we have gathered, present witnesses on behalf of your child, cross-examine witnesses brought by the school, and argue against any attempts by the school to introduce unreliable or irrelevant evidence. In the most extreme cases where the school is ignoring your child's rights, we can also advise you about bringing a lawsuit against the school to put a stop to its improper actions.
How an Attorney Can Help in a School Disciplinary Case
It may come as a surprise that schools don't always follow the disciplinary policies and procedures that are part of their codes of conduct or school manuals. And in some cases, students have rights that those policies and procedures fail to acknowledge. That's why it can be so helpful to have an experienced student defense attorney in your corner who knows what the school is supposed to be doing and what rights you and your child have in the disciplinary process. Attorneys from the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team can help you and your child in a number of different ways, for example:
- Discussing the matter with school officials and, where appropriate, suggesting alternative forms of discipline that will have less of an impact on your child's education while at the same time respecting the school's need to maintain discipline
- Meeting with school investigators to review the evidence they have gathered, suggesting possible additional evidence that they can look for, and conducting our own investigations where school investigators are lacking
- In all meetings or hearings involving the school, vigorously standing up for the rights of your child and defending them against the misconduct allegations brought by their school
During the entire stressful process, the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team will be there for you and your child, explaining what is happening, informing you of progress, and answering any questions you may have about the disciplinary matter.
The Lento Law Firm is Here to Help
It can be frustrating, stressful, and sometimes a bit scary when your child's school accuses them of misconduct. Whether it's because of mobile phone misuse or for another reason, it can be enormously helpful to be able to rely on an experienced attorney who understands what is happening and who knows how to defend your child from the allegations being made against them by their school. The Lento Law Firm has been helping students across the country in grades K-8 who have been accused of misconduct defend and protect their rights in school misconduct proceedings. We know this is difficult and stressful for you and your child, and our goal is to help relieve you of much of that stress while providing your child with a strong, effective defense to the allegations brought against them.
Call the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team today at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to schedule a confidential consultation to learn more about how we can protect your child. We're here to listen and to help!
