Elementary and secondary schools take discipline extremely seriously these days. Maybe too seriously. We live in a social and political climate in which schools can find themselves on CNN for nothing more than a rumor of student misconduct. As a result, teachers and administrators don't just enforce the rules and issue sanctions. It sometimes almost seems like they're actively looking for excuses to discipline students.  

If your child is facing disciplinary action because of something they wrote or drew on a smart board, remember that they have due process rights. Their school or district can't simply punish them without allowing them to defend themselves. And when they are found responsible? They're entitled to fair punishments. We can help. The Lento Law Firm was founded to protect students from unfair treatment. We know the law, and we know how school districts operate. Your child is entitled to legal representation, and no one will fight harder for them than the Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team. 

To find out more, call 888-535-3686 or use our automated online form. 

The Technological Revolution 

Classroom technology is a good thing. Students need familiarity with computers and other electronic devices because they'll encounter them in college and in almost any career they decide to pursue. Beyond that, though, digital education is often exponentially more effective than traditional books, paper, and pencils.  

Everything has a downside, though, even educational technology. If your child's school has made the transition from blackboards or whiteboards to smart boards, you need to be aware that what students do with these smart boards can have serious disciplinary consequences.  

In the old days, if a student wrote or drew something offensive with a bit of chalk, it was a fairly simple matter to erase whatever it was. Smart boards work a little differently, though, and schools treat them differently. In a literal sense, the information put on a digital device like a smart board can be permanent. This permanence has led many schools to treat misuse of these devices differently than they used to treat chalkboards. To put it simply, the disciplinary stakes are higher. 

In fact, the law generally treats digital devices differently. Often, for example, you can be prosecuted for writing someone online that you'd be perfectly safe writing on a sheet of notebook paper. Part of this has to do with the fact that social media posts are especially permanent. In general, though, the law has evolved to treat communication that occurs on “computer” or “information” systems as more serious than other kinds of communication, whether or not it occurs online. Schools have followed his lead. 

The bottom line is that an offensive word, phrase, or picture on a chalkboard might have led to detention in the past; the same offensive word on a smart board is often punished with suspension or worse. Is it fair? That's certainly debatable. What isn't debatable, though, is that it is so. 

Trust the Lento Law Firm 

It doesn't really matter what allegations your child is facing. It doesn't matter whether that allegation has to do with analog or digital media. The Lento Law Firm's Student Defense Team is on your side. We'll make sure your child is treated fairly and that you and your family get the best possible resolution to your case. 

To find out about all our services, call 888-535-3686 today or use our automated online form.