Now that we have decided that we will homeschool the oldest daughter - gods help us - we finally received some response from the school district regarding the situation that prompted us to consider it.
Below is Superintendent Bedden's response that I believe to be genuine and I appreciate very much:
"Capt. Zeski:
This is the first I am hearing about this situation. I am quit familiar with the search and seizure guidelines since my dissertation focus was school law.
I will make sure you hear from someone in the leadership regarding this situation ASAP.
I ask that you be patient and also remember that just like the Army, we actually do have a chain of command. While I am not sure where your request made it in the central office, I will track it down.
Sorry for the inconvience."
He does seem be someone who is reasonable and able to be worked with. So far, he is the only person in the district that has seemed so.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Issues with the Richmond County School District
Rather than rewrite something I already wrote, here's the letter I sent to the Superintendent of the Richmond County School District:
"Superintendant Bedden,
Before I get into my issue, let me tell you a little bit about myself.
I am a Soldier. I am a Captain in the United States Army. My job is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. I have served in combat operations in numerous locales in the Middle East.
I am a father and a husband - my family comes first. I do everything within the limits of my power to protect them. I watch my children; I see what they do online and at the playground. I allow my oldest daughter, Amber, to carry a cell phone for emergencies and also because it is embedded with a GPS locator that enables me to see where she is at any times. I know that the possibilities of anything happening to her on the way to, from, or at school are not high – but they do exist.
I am sure you are aware of the very recent attempt made to kidnap a 10 year old girl from a school bus stop area. This situation is exactly why I have a GPS enabled phone that I insist my daughter keep on her person at all times.
That is who I am and what I do.
Now for the issue at hand:
On 15 August, 2007, my daughter, Amber, was randomly picked out for a search of her person and bags as soon as she got off the bus. There was no suspicion of any wrong-doing or contraband. During the illegal search, she voluntarily handed over her cell phone and explained to Officer Ward, the searching officer, why she had it and that it was at my express order. She knows to follow the orders of law-enforcement officials and did so.
When Officer Ward called me and informed me about the situation, I waited until my other children were home from school and went down to Langford Middle School to talk with him about the situation and how I could get my property back. Officer Ward said that he could not release my property to me and that it would have to be released by the Superintendent’s Office. He was professional and courteous at all times and provided me with the information I needed in order to contact your office.
I picked up Amber from the school at that time because school was over and proceeded directly to the Richmond County Department of Education building. I entered the building and was addressed by the Public Safety officer at the front desk. I informed him of my desire to speak to someone in your office and was asked why. I explained the situation and he flatly said, “Confiscated cell phones are held for 365 days.” I again requested to speak with someone in the Superintendent’s Office and instead was directed to the Public Safety office down the hall.
Once in the Public Safety office I spoke with the receptionist and explained the situation. She also told me flatly about the “365-day confiscation” policy. I was then escorted to the office of Captain Ted Brown.
I again explained the situation to Captain Brown who told me, in addition to the “365 policy,” that there are signs outside of each school stating that all students consent to searches by coming onto school property. I did not remember if there had been or hadn’t been, so I did not comment on that at the time. Captain Brown explained that he could do nothing and could not return my phone to me. I explained that I realized he could do nothing which is why I had wanted to speak with someone in the Superintendent’s Office. He said that the Superintendent couldn’t do anything because it was a school board policy.
Once I left Captain Brown’s office I attempted to make an appointment to speak with you or someone in your office. The voice-mail I was transferred to was full, so I tried again and spoke with Candy who took my name and phone number and told me that either yourself or the Deputy Superintendent would call when the meeting was over. I did not receive a call that night.
After leaving the District Offices I went back to Langford Middle School to verify was Captain Brown had said about the signs. As it turns out, there are no signs indicating a consent to search by coming on school property at either Langford Middle School nor Copeland Elementary (where my other children attend school). I took pictures of the lack of signs.
While I waited for a phone call from your office, I began researching my rights and my daughter’s rights. I am now considering pursuing a case against the Richmond County School District and Board of Education for violating my daughter’s Fourth Amendment Right under the Constitution of the United States to be secure in her person and property.
I called again on Friday morning and Friday afternoon and was told by a cordial receptionist that she had given my message and request to call to Mr. Thompson. She also said that she would reissue the request for me. She still had my name and phone number on hand and repeated it back to me. I did not receive any calls from your office on Friday.
When Officer Ward first stopped my daughter as part of a completely “random” search without cause of reason to be suspect that my daughter had done anything wrong, he – and the district by authorizing him to do so – executed an illegal and unlawful search of my daughter and her possessions. During that search, he confiscated her cell phone. It is my contention that because the initial search was illegal, all items confiscated at that time were seized unlawfully.
The United States Supreme Court has made it clear that the “Fourth Amendment applies to searches conducted by public school officials because ‘school officials act as representatives of the State, not merely as surrogates for the parents.’” It also stated that, “the school setting requires some easing of the restrictions to which searches by public authorities are ordinarily subject.” So, if Officer Ward was acting as a school official he would have had a lower standard of suspicion to execute a search, however, he would still need “reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search will turn up evidence that the student has violated or is violating either the law or the rules of the school.” As this was, admittedly, a completely “random” search, there was clearly no reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search would turn up anything. If, however, Officer Ward was acting as a law enforcement official, and NOT a School Official, the burden of having some probable cause would be even greater than as a school official.
Either way, the search was unlawful and was a violation of my daughter’s Constitutional Rights. I am fairly certain that the Richmond County School District is also subject to the laws of the State of Georgia wherein the Constitution of Georgia states that, “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue except upon probable cause supported by oath or affirmation particularly describing the place or places to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.” Again, the District is in violation of the Constitution of the State of Georgia.
During the search, my daughter’s cell phone was confiscated by Officer Ward of the Public Safety Department of the Richmond County Board of Education. If the Public Safety Department is an actual law-enforcement agency in the state of Georgia, then the following Georgia Code applies:
Title 17
O.C.G.A. § 17-5-2 (2007)
An inventory of all instruments, articles, or things seized in a search without a search warrant shall be given to the person arrested and a copy thereof delivered to the judicial officer before whom the person arrested is taken. If the person arrested is released without a charge being preferred against him, all instruments, articles, or things seized, other than contraband or stolen property, shall be returned to him upon release.
As my daughter was not charged with any crime, my property should be returned as it is not contraband to anyone except the school district which does not have the authority to deprive me of my property.
I hope that we can resolve this matter without it progressing into a bigger incident. I started at the bottom of the chain, giving every level of authority the opportunity to rectify the situation. At this stage, I am running out of people to talk to.
In order to resolve this amicably, all I am asking for is an apology from the School Board or its representative, to my daughter for infringing on her Constitutional Rights; a statement by the School Board clarifying the authority of the Public Safety in specific regards to “random” searches; immediate return of my property; and a waiver so that my daughter can keep her cell phone in her school bag in the “silent” possession.
If we are unable to come to a satisfactory and timely conclusion, my next contact will be with the State of Georgia Board of Education, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department and the ACLU.
I appreciate your timely response.
Thanks,
Bryan XXXXX
Captain, Signal Corps
United States Army"
I swear, I'm THIS close to home-schooling the kids. Even if its just so that the school district loses money by them not being there.
"Superintendant Bedden,
Before I get into my issue, let me tell you a little bit about myself.
I am a Soldier. I am a Captain in the United States Army. My job is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. I have served in combat operations in numerous locales in the Middle East.
I am a father and a husband - my family comes first. I do everything within the limits of my power to protect them. I watch my children; I see what they do online and at the playground. I allow my oldest daughter, Amber, to carry a cell phone for emergencies and also because it is embedded with a GPS locator that enables me to see where she is at any times. I know that the possibilities of anything happening to her on the way to, from, or at school are not high – but they do exist.
I am sure you are aware of the very recent attempt made to kidnap a 10 year old girl from a school bus stop area. This situation is exactly why I have a GPS enabled phone that I insist my daughter keep on her person at all times.
That is who I am and what I do.
Now for the issue at hand:
On 15 August, 2007, my daughter, Amber, was randomly picked out for a search of her person and bags as soon as she got off the bus. There was no suspicion of any wrong-doing or contraband. During the illegal search, she voluntarily handed over her cell phone and explained to Officer Ward, the searching officer, why she had it and that it was at my express order. She knows to follow the orders of law-enforcement officials and did so.
When Officer Ward called me and informed me about the situation, I waited until my other children were home from school and went down to Langford Middle School to talk with him about the situation and how I could get my property back. Officer Ward said that he could not release my property to me and that it would have to be released by the Superintendent’s Office. He was professional and courteous at all times and provided me with the information I needed in order to contact your office.
I picked up Amber from the school at that time because school was over and proceeded directly to the Richmond County Department of Education building. I entered the building and was addressed by the Public Safety officer at the front desk. I informed him of my desire to speak to someone in your office and was asked why. I explained the situation and he flatly said, “Confiscated cell phones are held for 365 days.” I again requested to speak with someone in the Superintendent’s Office and instead was directed to the Public Safety office down the hall.
Once in the Public Safety office I spoke with the receptionist and explained the situation. She also told me flatly about the “365-day confiscation” policy. I was then escorted to the office of Captain Ted Brown.
I again explained the situation to Captain Brown who told me, in addition to the “365 policy,” that there are signs outside of each school stating that all students consent to searches by coming onto school property. I did not remember if there had been or hadn’t been, so I did not comment on that at the time. Captain Brown explained that he could do nothing and could not return my phone to me. I explained that I realized he could do nothing which is why I had wanted to speak with someone in the Superintendent’s Office. He said that the Superintendent couldn’t do anything because it was a school board policy.
Once I left Captain Brown’s office I attempted to make an appointment to speak with you or someone in your office. The voice-mail I was transferred to was full, so I tried again and spoke with Candy who took my name and phone number and told me that either yourself or the Deputy Superintendent would call when the meeting was over. I did not receive a call that night.
After leaving the District Offices I went back to Langford Middle School to verify was Captain Brown had said about the signs. As it turns out, there are no signs indicating a consent to search by coming on school property at either Langford Middle School nor Copeland Elementary (where my other children attend school). I took pictures of the lack of signs.
While I waited for a phone call from your office, I began researching my rights and my daughter’s rights. I am now considering pursuing a case against the Richmond County School District and Board of Education for violating my daughter’s Fourth Amendment Right under the Constitution of the United States to be secure in her person and property.
I called again on Friday morning and Friday afternoon and was told by a cordial receptionist that she had given my message and request to call to Mr. Thompson. She also said that she would reissue the request for me. She still had my name and phone number on hand and repeated it back to me. I did not receive any calls from your office on Friday.
When Officer Ward first stopped my daughter as part of a completely “random” search without cause of reason to be suspect that my daughter had done anything wrong, he – and the district by authorizing him to do so – executed an illegal and unlawful search of my daughter and her possessions. During that search, he confiscated her cell phone. It is my contention that because the initial search was illegal, all items confiscated at that time were seized unlawfully.
The United States Supreme Court has made it clear that the “Fourth Amendment applies to searches conducted by public school officials because ‘school officials act as representatives of the State, not merely as surrogates for the parents.’” It also stated that, “the school setting requires some easing of the restrictions to which searches by public authorities are ordinarily subject.” So, if Officer Ward was acting as a school official he would have had a lower standard of suspicion to execute a search, however, he would still need “reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search will turn up evidence that the student has violated or is violating either the law or the rules of the school.” As this was, admittedly, a completely “random” search, there was clearly no reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search would turn up anything. If, however, Officer Ward was acting as a law enforcement official, and NOT a School Official, the burden of having some probable cause would be even greater than as a school official.
Either way, the search was unlawful and was a violation of my daughter’s Constitutional Rights. I am fairly certain that the Richmond County School District is also subject to the laws of the State of Georgia wherein the Constitution of Georgia states that, “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue except upon probable cause supported by oath or affirmation particularly describing the place or places to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.” Again, the District is in violation of the Constitution of the State of Georgia.
During the search, my daughter’s cell phone was confiscated by Officer Ward of the Public Safety Department of the Richmond County Board of Education. If the Public Safety Department is an actual law-enforcement agency in the state of Georgia, then the following Georgia Code applies:
Title 17
O.C.G.A. § 17-5-2 (2007)
An inventory of all instruments, articles, or things seized in a search without a search warrant shall be given to the person arrested and a copy thereof delivered to the judicial officer before whom the person arrested is taken. If the person arrested is released without a charge being preferred against him, all instruments, articles, or things seized, other than contraband or stolen property, shall be returned to him upon release.
As my daughter was not charged with any crime, my property should be returned as it is not contraband to anyone except the school district which does not have the authority to deprive me of my property.
I hope that we can resolve this matter without it progressing into a bigger incident. I started at the bottom of the chain, giving every level of authority the opportunity to rectify the situation. At this stage, I am running out of people to talk to.
In order to resolve this amicably, all I am asking for is an apology from the School Board or its representative, to my daughter for infringing on her Constitutional Rights; a statement by the School Board clarifying the authority of the Public Safety in specific regards to “random” searches; immediate return of my property; and a waiver so that my daughter can keep her cell phone in her school bag in the “silent” possession.
If we are unable to come to a satisfactory and timely conclusion, my next contact will be with the State of Georgia Board of Education, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department and the ACLU.
I appreciate your timely response.
Thanks,
Bryan XXXXX
Captain, Signal Corps
United States Army"
I swear, I'm THIS close to home-schooling the kids. Even if its just so that the school district loses money by them not being there.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Stupid Verizon
I upgraded my oldest daughter's phone to an LG Chocolate so that I would be able to install the "chaperon" service from Verizon and be able to track her and make sure she's going where she's supposed to and isn't going where she isn't supposed to.
When I first added it to her phone, they asked what phone I wanted to be the "parent" phone - and I just picked my phone - no biggie. I never planned to check her location from my phone, so I didn't care. I knew my phone wasn't capable of installing the parent software, and neither was my wife's. No biggie - I would just check on her from the computer.
When I tried to activate the software on my daughter's phone it gave me an error message and I was too impatient to actually READ the message. I tried it a couple more times and called then called Verizon for help - my mistake. They said I HAD to have the parent software installed first. Grr. "That's stupid," I thought, but who am I to argue with a Verizon tech? So, I gave up temporarily.
Once we got to Georgia, my daughter was taking forever to get home on the bus - and I worry easy. I really really wanted to use that tracking system. When she finally got home I took her phone and tried activating it, even though the Verizon people said it wouldn't work. This time, I READ the error and realized that I just had to activate the "Location On" on the phone. I did that, not expecting it to work, but much to my surprise it did! Whoo hoo! I was able to view the phone's location without a problem. I quickly set up zones and now its great. I get a text message when she leaves the area of the apartment complex on her way to school and I get another one when she gets to school. Then on the way back, I get a text when she leaves the school area and when she gets back in the apartment area. I love it. Well worth the $10 a month and substantially cheaper than an actual GPS tracking system. Much much cheaper. And just as effective.
When I first added it to her phone, they asked what phone I wanted to be the "parent" phone - and I just picked my phone - no biggie. I never planned to check her location from my phone, so I didn't care. I knew my phone wasn't capable of installing the parent software, and neither was my wife's. No biggie - I would just check on her from the computer.
When I tried to activate the software on my daughter's phone it gave me an error message and I was too impatient to actually READ the message. I tried it a couple more times and called then called Verizon for help - my mistake. They said I HAD to have the parent software installed first. Grr. "That's stupid," I thought, but who am I to argue with a Verizon tech? So, I gave up temporarily.
Once we got to Georgia, my daughter was taking forever to get home on the bus - and I worry easy. I really really wanted to use that tracking system. When she finally got home I took her phone and tried activating it, even though the Verizon people said it wouldn't work. This time, I READ the error and realized that I just had to activate the "Location On" on the phone. I did that, not expecting it to work, but much to my surprise it did! Whoo hoo! I was able to view the phone's location without a problem. I quickly set up zones and now its great. I get a text message when she leaves the area of the apartment complex on her way to school and I get another one when she gets to school. Then on the way back, I get a text when she leaves the school area and when she gets back in the apartment area. I love it. Well worth the $10 a month and substantially cheaper than an actual GPS tracking system. Much much cheaper. And just as effective.
Back to School
The kids all started school on Monday. I have to say that so far, I'm not impressed with the school system here. Even the Kindergarten, which are usually bright and cheery, seemed dismal and almost depressing when we visited yesterday. I don't know why, it just seemed that way. The elementary school looks like a kiddie warehouse - although it isn't packed with kids - the ceilings are bare, exposed wiring runs from room to room. It looks like the school district just doesn't care enough to actually FINISH fixing the school. Hell, the other day we went in and they were still painting the doors. You'd think that be something that was done BEFORE all the elementary school kids came back to school.
The oldest daughter is going to middle school - and she takes the bus every day. The bus is not exactly on-time all the time and in the first three days of school, she was almost late twice. She got to choose two electives to take this quarter or term or semester, whatever it is, and she chose Spanish and something else. For her first homework, she is supposed to answer these questions about Spain - and the answers clearly need to come from a book that she says the teacher won't let them bring home. I looked all over for the teacher on the school page only to find out that he isn't even listed. So, I do the next best thing, I begin searching online for the book. As it turns out, her book IS online but the teacher is supposed to give them a username and password. Which he didn't. Talk about setting the kids up for failure. So, I dug a little deeper into the WWW and found someone who put THEIR user name and password up for everyone to see. I used that and viola we were in. So, now she can do her homework.
Also, seeing as though Georgia is a highly religious state, my daughter has already taken a little flak for wearing her 5-pointed star at school. Not flak from the teachers or administration (which we wouldn't tolerate), but flak from other kids because she doesn't believe in hell and the boogey-man under the ground. Well, that's just not fair or right, so I think we're going to begin giving her a little history lesson every once in awhile about the Bible and what it says so she isn't defenseless out there against the sheeple who think they are Christians because they go to church every week.
Normally, I wouldn't tell my girls what to believe or how to believe it, or even that someone else's belief wasn't right - after all, its everyone's choice to make. But, when people are harassing her and can't seem to keep it to themselves, then it only seems fair to give her the other side of the story than what she's hearing from the kids at school. She's a tough girl and can handle it - I just think she deserves a little help if she wants it.
Moving
We recently made a move from Fort Carson, Colorado to Augusta, Georgia. We don't particularly enjoy the South, but we have to come here so I can take some advanced classes for my Army.
On the way here, there was an accident in the opposite lane of traffic from us. It was hard to see, but it looked like someone else who was moving had a very bad day. There were toys and boxes all over and it looked like a moving truck had burned up (picture). As it turns out, it was much worse than that. Apparently, it WAS a family that was moving and they were headed east on the same road as us. Something happened to the rental truck and he crossed the grassy median and crashed head on into a semi-truck. Everyone in the accident was killed. The wife of the rental truck driver was following behind and saw the whole thing. Ouch.
Other than that incident, the drive across the country was uneventful - even pulling a car loaded with crap behind the Jeep. Our apartment was waiting for us when we arrived and the first day we got here we were able to get the kids registered for school and get groceries and we even managed to unload the car, get it weighed empty on the trailer and then turn in the trailer. I was concerned because I didn't want to have the trailer stolen while we waited to turn it in. Not very trusting I suppose.
Belated Update
Yeah, yeah, so its been awhile - geez, we've taken a few vacations and moved across the country, cut us some slack. As it turns out, after the first few incidences, monitoring the oldest girl online isn't as hard or as entertaining as I thought it would be. She pretty much follows the rules - sometimes needs a little nudge in the right direction, but she knows that I watch everything and will pounce on her if she steps out of line.
She's still doing the Zwinky thing and tried to get an IMVU account - which was swiftly dealt with, and was less painful than it could have been. When I told her "no" and to uninstall it, she did without a question. Later on, she asked why and I told her that it was too sexually oriented for her. She said, "oh" and went on her way. Now, whenever her little online buddies ask about IMVU, she says she doesn't have one and if they ask why, she'll tell them the same thing I told her. Good girl.
In addition to the Zwinky, a couple of her Zwinky friends are on MSN Messenger and she talks to them on there too. One of them says he's "Pete" from Fall Out Boy - yeah, right. I told my daughter that if he WAS the guy he says he is, she should get some back stage passes to their next local concert. She doesn't really think its him, but she wants to. I have to admit that the guy and his friends are not giving up the act without a fight. Its been awhile now and they still talk about the last concert or the hotel or they have to go practice. Sometimes his "girfriend" gets on and says that he's out on the tour and so isn't logged in - and she even seems a little jealous that some other girl is talking to him.
She's still doing the Zwinky thing and tried to get an IMVU account - which was swiftly dealt with, and was less painful than it could have been. When I told her "no" and to uninstall it, she did without a question. Later on, she asked why and I told her that it was too sexually oriented for her. She said, "oh" and went on her way. Now, whenever her little online buddies ask about IMVU, she says she doesn't have one and if they ask why, she'll tell them the same thing I told her. Good girl.
In addition to the Zwinky, a couple of her Zwinky friends are on MSN Messenger and she talks to them on there too. One of them says he's "Pete" from Fall Out Boy - yeah, right. I told my daughter that if he WAS the guy he says he is, she should get some back stage passes to their next local concert. She doesn't really think its him, but she wants to. I have to admit that the guy and his friends are not giving up the act without a fight. Its been awhile now and they still talk about the last concert or the hotel or they have to go practice. Sometimes his "girfriend" gets on and says that he's out on the tour and so isn't logged in - and she even seems a little jealous that some other girl is talking to him.
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