Hello and Welcome.  Each month The Child and Family Law Center of the North Shore, Ltd. will provide articles of interest and updates on areas that our office deals with on a regular basis.  We appreciate and welcome feedback, so please feel free to send us an email at mickim@lawforchild.com with questions or suggestions.

The statute lists the following items that must be included in each school district's bullying policies.

*    Must contain a definition of bullying as provided in the statute. [Bullying is defined as any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or electronically, directed toward a student or students that has or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following: (1) placing the student in reasonable fear of harm to the student's person or property; (2) Causing a substantially detrimental effect on the student's physical or mental health; (3) substantially interfering with the student's academic performance ; or substantially interfering with student's ability to participate or benefit from the services, activities or privileges provided by the school. Bullying may take various forms, including, without limitation, one or more of the following; harassment, threats, intimidation, stalking, physical violence, sexual harassment, sexual violence, theft, public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation for asserting or alleging an act of bullying.] This list is meant to be illustrative and non-exhaustive.

*    Must include a statement that bullying is contrary to State law and the policy of the school district.

*    Consistent with federal and State laws and rules governing student privacy rights, includes procedures for promptly informing parents or guardians of all students involved in the alleged bullying and discussing, as appropriate, the availability of social work services, counseling school psychological services, other interventions and restorative measures.

Of course, the legal answer is that it depends. This is an evolving area of law and one that requires an analysis of the facts in each case. However, two recent Supreme Court cases may make it harder for school districts to search a student's phone without probable cause. The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects against unlawful search and seizures by law enforcement.

On June 25, 2014, the United States Supreme Court issued decisions in two cases, Riley v. California and United States v. Brima Wurie, that analyzed how the Fourth Amendment has evolved with technology. The cases addressed the issue of police warrantless searches of cell phones and not searches by school personnel. However, there are potential implications for students and school district officials in these cases.

Many times a year, parents and students sit in my office seemingly stunned by the ability of school district administrators to search their locker, question them and elicit statements without some of the legal protections they believe apply. School officials are not the police. This area becomes blurred when school resource officers (the police who are assigned to a school) get involved. In a 1985 case, New Jersey v. T.L.O., the Court ruled that though students have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their person and belongings, school personnel, unlike police officers, do not have to have probably cause, but only a reasonable suspicion of and/or instrumentalities of criminal activity, and/or contraband to conduct a warrantless search of a student. Searches by school officials are subject to the two part, "reasonableness test."

School officials must be able to demonstrate to factual circumstances which justified their decision to seize a student's phone, and second to limit the scope of their search of the phone to the contents which led them to take the phone initially. If school resource officers/police are involved, they may be held to the standard outlined in the recent cases. Parents should caution their children/adolescents that their phones are likely subject to a search by school officials. Additionally, they should be made aware that the information that is obtained may be used to charge them with criminal conduct or for the purposes of school disciplinary action.

A new law in Illinois will help parents obtain the care they need for their children struggling with mental illness without having to turn them over to the Department Children and Family Services. As a last resort, some families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid and whose private insurance will not cover the cost of their children's treatment have been forced to give up their children to the foster care system.

The Child and Family Law Center of the North Shore is a unique legal practice that specializes in providing legal services to families and children in the areas of special education, IEP consultations, divorce and custody, parenting agreements, mediation, guardianship and juvenile law, including criminal law, DCFS and mental health. Where possible, we have initiated flat fee billing for appropriate matters.

 

The Child and Family Law Center of the North Shore 

1950 Sheridan Rd. - Suite 201

Highland Park, IL 60035 

 

 

For more information about The Child and Family Law Center of the North Shore, please call 847-926-0101 or visit our website at www.lawforchild.com.