So, I was just wondering if anyone could clear things up for me about this law (restraining a minor). My friend broke a school rule and the teacher took him by the neck (not very roughly, but enough to restrain him), he said "You're not allowed to restrain a minor", she stopped immediately and they went to the office. So, what are the specifics on this law? (assuming it's real and if it is real, I am also assuming it's still active)
I don't know if it is legal to restrain a minor over there, but here I think the teacher could be up on charges, what with the rights little brats have today. I don't think there is anything wrong with a teacher restraining a minor although it would depend on how forceful that restraint was.
It wasn't that much, still seemed enough to get her in trouble I guess. And to the second one, I guess my teacher is the kind of nitwit.
Depends on the school rule broken. If the minor was involved in anything that could hurt others or himself, restraint is acceptable.
It is bizarre the way schools handle kids today. If they're caught smoking on campus they call the police, the children are ticketed and have to appear in court. Ditto for fighting or having a butter knife in their lunch box. However if they're suspected of sharing prescription medicines like ibuprofin the school officials' will themselves strip search the kid. Whatever happened to common sense and parental authority? Now schools partner with police in raising children and treat parents as part of the problem rather than peers in the solution.
Kids can be remarkably stupid and defiant.. The teacher should have called law enforcement on the p*ssant.
It will depend exactly where you are. The laws and regulations can vary quite significantly. Grabbing a child is generally frowned upon in my experience (unless it's to prevent immediate risk of injury, and sometimes not even then) but not necessarily a criminal matter in a relatively minor incident as you describe. In the UK (and I suspect the US) it can be very much luck as to whether something gets reported far enough up the chain. Of course, some might say that if your arrogant friend hadn't broken the rules in the first place, it wouldn't have happened at all. Lesson learnt all round I'd hope.
If a child is acting violently defiant (dangerous or criminal) yes police should be called. If a child is being difficult, then no, teachers should work with parents to teach children appropriate behavior. (imho) Police have a tendency to escalate managable situations into crisis. Schools should have the right to have students barred from attending their institutions for not adhering to a standard of behavior without it becoming a crisis or criminal issue.
Depends on the administrator/system. In my wife/kids' system, they would have called the police on the prescription drugs. Because parents, too often, have become part of the problem instead of peers in a solution. I used to teach. I was good friends with a lady who was second in command in the transportation department. She told a story about a fight that had been recorded on the school bus video. The parent of the child who caused the fight claimed he didn't do it. It was ON VIDEO. There is no reasonable way he could deny fighting.
As I stated if the child was violently defiant (acting in a criminal manner) the police should have been called. If not, then no, the teacher did not do anyone any favors, they did their job. Part of teaching is managing the students, if a teacher cannot do that, they are not competent and no, I'm not saying teachers need to take on responsibility for the child if they are not appropriate but should act in a manner consistent with common sense and professionalism. I wasn't there so I don't know if the student was acting in a criminal manner or not.
This is the standard policy for the school district we live in. I'm not sure about other districts in the state. For suspicion? For all we know they stripped searched the girl to find the evidence to justify calling the police. Still though, even if the girl did have prescription ibuprofin does this really constitute a criminal act requiring police action? I understand and acknowledge the value of your comment, however, what if we turn it around? Because teachers, too often, have become part of the problem instead of peers in a solution. If you were a parent criticizing teachers, I think I would probably feel about the same way. Perhaps an underlying issue is communication and cooperation. Neither teachers nor parents trust eachother anymore so kids are stuck in the middle and law enforcement becomes the arbitrator. What does this say about a "free" society when Law Enforcement Officers become the arbitrators between parents and teachers with the judicial sytem providing discipline? Isn't this an uneccessary and alarmist escalation to mange interpersonal relationships? Pretty sad . . .
Yes. It is against federal law. Prescription drugs are serious. They shouldn't be transferred from person to person. I think you are overdoing that part of it. Law enforcement is only called in when criminal law is broken. Cussing in the hall, for example, isn't breaking the law. Law enforcement CANNOT be involved in that action. Fighting or dispensing prescription drugs are criminal offenses. Law enforcement isn't the arbiter. Law enforcement is basically an escalation. It's an escalation from a lower part of government (schools) to a more intense part of government (justice system). Law enforcement just takes care of crime committed. They aren't the arbitrators. Now, the judicial system is slowly becoming the disciplinarian because the hands of school officials are quickly becoming tied by the law. In my day (I'm 45), the majority of incidents in a classroom were solved by the teacher, often using a paddle as punishment. It was quick and simple, and worked (for good kids, anyway). Major offenses were taken care of by the principals (again usually with the aid of a paddle). The only time law enforcement was involved was with drugs or with weapon use. I can't recall that happening. The problem is that due to money-sucking lawyers (and parents who call them), school officials have few things that they can legally do. Suspension and expulsion are pretty much the only choices. I've been on both sides of the issue. I've been a teacher and have dealt with parents. I'm a parent and deal with teachers. Reasonable parents rarely have problems that involve law enforcement.
We need to address this irrational fear of drugs. Hallucinogens, psychostimulants, opiates, barbituates, amphetamines and psychotropic drugs are one thing and the possession or transference of these substances on school property is absolutely criminal behavior; there is no room for lapse of judgement or confusion. I would like to note that criminal behavior is not necessarily synonymous with what are legally defined criminal actions. Possession of Ibuprofin on the other hand is a completely different animal. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to understand why an adolescent girl would want or be in possession of this drug either. With proper supervision and authority this understandable use of ibuprofin is also completely appropriate by any reasonable standard. I'm not trying justify irresponsible and potentially dangerous behavior, I'm just saying it shouldn't be classified as criminal. No tolerance appears to be incompatible with reason which requires the judicious use of common sense. I'm not disagreeing with you. I agree teachers are often routinely put in difficult situations with few tools and options at their disposal. I imagine professional obligations may at times be in conflict with personal sensibilities. I also understand your clarification concerning the specific conditions which warrant police involvement, I just wonder if that is entirely a good thing and suspect it again takes away teachers ability to use personal judgement. Perhaps de-federalizing education where more options could be defined at the state and local levels is worthy of consideration. This may allow more options for dealing with kids acting like jerks and engaging teachers innappropriately as Margot points out as well as other situations like this incident involving ibuprofin. This kid probably is lucky the teacher didn't call the police and under your clarification of police involvement he is technically justified.
I'm sure that there are outlined procedures in the school system that would allow the female students to get ibuprofen (or any other legal drug). In the local system, a student gets a form (available at school office, on district website or in student handbook). That form is then brought in with the drug to the school nurse. Then, as needed (or directed by prescription), the student can get the drug. Yes, it's bureaucratic, but in practice, isnt' too complicated. A coworker of mine would do that at the beginning of each year with ibuprofen for his daughters. Teachers are using personal judgement on whether to call the police. Most of the time, principals call the police, and there are specific sets of guidelines that warrant that. Basically, if its a crime outside of school, it's a crime inside of school. Police officers aren't being called for spitwads or student disrespect. They are being called for physical altercations that cause visible damage, etc. Actually, in this case, the police probably wouldn't have done much.
