Police Fine Students For Cursing

[The Straight Story]

Police Fine Students For Cursing

POSTED: 7:08 am EST December 1, 2005

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Bad words are costing Hartford Public and Bulkeley high schoolers $103 each.

Police officers assigned to the schools have fined about two dozen students for cursing in a new program to curtail unruly behavior. The joint effort by school and police officials targets students who swear while defying teachers and administrators.

"We're sending a message to the parents and to the teachers," said Sandy Cruz-Serrano, senior adviser to Superintendent of Schools Robert Henry. "We are trying to bring back order to the schools."

Parents are required to pay the fines if the students cannot.

http://www.local6.com/news/5441772/detail.html

[Loonman]

1. I wish they could do that on trolleys, here(Boston)

I'm sick of hearing motherfucker, bitch and the N-word used 6 times per sentence by teenage punks. The old people and young mothers with young kids just love that.

[tridim]

2. First Amendment? What First Amendment?

Kids and adults swear. Always have, always will.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. schools are now a police state?

I agree that bad language is unpleasant, but I don't get how words are causing that much of a disruption-and what about freedom of speech? Frankly, I'd be more worried about the silent student in the dark trenchcoat that is planning to mow down as many people as he can....are the schools doing anything for them? Seems to me that more counsellors would make sense than having cops watching kids' mouths.

[goddess40]

17. Schools are more about learning your place then education

it isn't most of the teachers position but it is most administrations. If your school has any "zero tolerance" policies it puts following rules above all else. zero tolerance rules don't allow for mitigating factors and therefore are part of a police state mentality not education.

[mrcheerful]

4. Hate to mention this but until a person reaches 18

they have no rights. Or unless a court emancipates them before 18. That means they are allowed to curb anyones speech if they are under 18, so theres no violation of freedom of speech guarantees. That means that the parents are in complete control of said child, though under juvenile laws they are protected from cruel and unusual punishments. Its lucky that the parents are not being brought up on charges for allowing them to talk the way they do. BTW, if you had lived in michigan you'd have known that a grown man who was rafting down a river got dunked and cursed, unknown to said man, there were fundies with in ear shot that heard him and reported him to police. The man was arrested and fined for it. The courts used a law from the 1800's to uphold the conviction, the last I heard.

[Occulus]

6. So seniors over 18 are exempt?

Why do I doubt that....

[mrcheerful]

7. After 18 and still in school you have to conform to school rules even if

they are now against your rights as an adult. For example after 18 you have the right to smoke cigarettes, but you lose that right while in school or on school grounds. Some school systems allow 18yo's to light up in their cars going to and coming from school grounds. Until you either graduate or quit school as long as you are enrolled you have to abide by school rules.

[Tesha]

9. You are wrong.

The places where students have been found to "not have rights" are
the entirely places you'd expect. For example, the student has no
rights to keep the school or police from searching their locker
because the student does not own that locker, the school system does.
Similarly, the school sstem and notthe students exercises ultimate
control over what gets printed in the school newspaper paid for
bythe school system.

But if anyone challenges this swearing bullshit (sic), the policy
is quite likely to be struck down on first-amendment grounds. You
lose none of your free speech rights by walking through the
schoolhouse door.

Tesha

[Javaman]

10. I heard about that story and from what I read...

he didn't just swear once, twice or three times, the guy was on a swearing jag. Apparently, it was a stream of profanity that would make a whore blush.

I swear up a storm just like the next person, but if I was there with my kids, I would have at least asked him to keep it down.

[mrcheerful]

11. The problem was the

fundies were down river from the guy cussing and he was unaware they were there as there was a bend in the river and he couldn't see what was around said bend. As far as being wrong about kids having no rights you better read school policies and laws pertaining to teen rights. You will be surprised what you find in them both.

[Javaman]

14. Um, where did I say kids didn't have any rights? n/t

[tx_dem41]

5. Is this based on a municipal law? I seriously doubt that the school..

district has the authority to levee fines especially without due process.

[mrcheerful]

8. It would more then likely fall under city or township laws.

The school can go to the local officals and request fines and such be set in place under juvenile laws. All they need is for a judge to sign it or they can take it to the voters and put it in place that way. But fines would have to be set by a judge or a JP.

[Dances with Cats]

12. Fuck that!

n/t.

[Swamp Rat]

13. Meanwhile, someone is robbing a house...

:eyes:

[goddess40]

15. my 12 year old is in deep shit nt

[Err]

16. That's pure bullshit.

Don't cops have better things to do with their time???