JOLIET, IL – An Illinois law -- approved with bipartisan support in 2014 (see roll calls below) -- gave public school officials the authority to force students to turn over the passwords for their private social media accounts. However, as Victor Skinner of EAGnew.org reports, principals and others given the license to invade students' privacy have so far declined to exercise it for fear of legal repercussions.
Springfield legislators passed the law (HB4207) as an anti-bullying measure with what critics argue was little consideration of the actual need or the operational or Constitutional applicability.
Plainfield School District 202 spokesman Tom Hernandez told MySuburbanLife.com the district hasn’t had problems dealing with students’ social media activity in the past.
Brian Schwartz, associate director and legal counsel for the Illinois Principals Association, told the news site he doesn’t believe school officials should seek students’ social media passwords because it would be an invasion of privacy, in most circumstances.
Joliet Public Schools District 86 attorney Nick Sakellariou says he can foresee the possibility of parents suing schools that request social media passwords on constitutional grounds because many believe the law violates students’ First Amendment rights.
And there’s plenty of examples of schools that have delved into monitoring students’ social media only to regret the decision later.
According to Ed Week:
In Minnesota, a student won a $70,000 settlement in March of last year from the 1,100-student Minnewaska Area school district after being forced to give school officials access to her Facebook account; in California, the 29,800-student Lodi Unified district came under harsh criticism for a policy that allowed school athletic coaches to suspend athletes for inappropriate postings made via social media; and in Alabama, the 23,000-student Huntsville City schools came under scrutiny following reports that it paid a security firm to monitor students’ public social-media posts.
Beyond the obvious potential free-speech issues, social media and digital privacy lawyer Bradley S. Shear told Ed Week that once school officials stick their noses in students’ business online, they could find themselves with more problems than they bargained for.
“Mr. Shear also raised the notion of the ‘slippery slope,’ asking what might happen, for example, if a school found evidence of illegal activity by a student’s family member while searching the student’s social media account,” Ed Week reports.
“Where do you draw the line?” Shear questioned.
The Illinois Senate roll call is below.
The Illinois House roll call is below:
