# Hol-eeee Crap!! School Suspends Student...After Spying on Him **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 18, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510 "2010-02-18T19:42:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/1 "2010-02-18T19:42:51Z")
So this Pennsylvania school susepnded a studen for inappropriate behaviour…in his home…by spying on him with a webcam on a school owned laptop…that was remotely activated to spy on the kids at home. Yes, you read that right, the school is using the computer’s webcams they gave the kids to use and then using it as a basis to suspend for something they did in home, possibly even in their bedroom. [School used student laptop webcams to spy on them at school and home](http://www.boingboing.net/2010/02/17/school-used-student.html) > [@](#): > > According to the filings in Blake J Robbins v Lower Merion School District ¶ et al, the laptops issued to high-school students in the well-heeled Philly suburb have webcams that can be covertly activated by the schools’ administrators, who have used this facility to spy on students and even their families. The issue came to light when the Robbins’s child was disciplined for “improper behavior in his home” and the Vice Principal used a photo taken by the webcam as evidence. The suit is a class action, brought on behalf of all students issued with these machines. Ok this all sorts of creepy and disturbing and downright wrong that I am almost to schocked to get upset. Seriously, WTF!!! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/2 "2010-02-18T19:52:59Z")
School administrators were giving concealed cameras to teenagers so they could spy on them in their bedrooms? How did somebody think that was a good idea? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/3 "2010-02-18T19:56:59Z")
Ew. Creepy as all hell. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/4 "2010-02-18T19:57:30Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > School administrators were giving concealed cameras to teenagers so they could spy on them in their bedrooms? How did somebody think that was a good idea? Agreed. This is like a black hole of stupid that will (for once!) rightly lead to a ton of lawsuits against the school. Let’s not beat around the bush here, there’s a very good chance these school administrators turned this and inadvertantly or purposely watched a bunch of teenagers play with themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/5 "2010-02-18T20:00:25Z")
I’m sure buried deep in the fine print of the parental consent form is some kind of “authorization.” ---
**Author:** ![Kiber](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiber/32/317_2.png) [@Kiber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiber)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/6 "2010-02-18T20:02:32Z")
If these were activated in bedrooms - it seems like there’s a pretty good chance the school administrators could get busted for now having child porn on their computers. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/7 "2010-02-18T20:02:45Z")
What could he be doing at home that’s any business of the school? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/8 "2010-02-18T20:03:15Z")
Could this go beyond a simple class action civil suit into criminal behavior? Did school administrators break any laws by doing this? I can’t imagine that taking unauthorized secret webcam shots of minors in their own homes could possibly be legal in any way, shape or form. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/9 "2010-02-18T20:03:16Z")
Wow. I pay 20 bucks a month for this type of programming\*. They were getting it for free! That’s just not fair. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/10 "2010-02-18T20:04:15Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Let’s not beat around the bush here, … I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/11 "2010-02-18T20:04:17Z")
I’m beyond appalled. It also raises the specter of the school usurping parental authority. It depends what the “inappropriate behavior” was, of course. But what might be inappropriate to one adult may be allowed or even encouraged by the parents. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/12 "2010-02-18T20:06:02Z")
For a perfect storm of creepy, one wonders if the “inappropriate behavior” at issue was something sexual. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/13 "2010-02-18T20:07:55Z")
This is way beyond the pale, in my opinion. I am SO glad that my offspring are adults now. But… they have offspring as well. Hmmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/14 "2010-02-18T20:12:17Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > What could he be doing at home that’s any business of the school? :eek: Yep, that’s the second prong of this Barbeque Fork of Stupidity. I’ve never understood or condoned the idea that a school or school district could discipline someone for something done off of school grounds or at least outside of the school’s _in loco parentis_ time. And I’m sure that somewhere in the mountain of papers that almost invariably accompanied the child home at the beginning of the school year was a release concerning this very issue, probably buried in the acknowledgment of receipt of the laptop in the first place. Understand that this is probably the wealthiest and best school district in the state, in the tonier suburbs of Philly. If there’s any chance of the class action succeeding, it will, because these folks aren’t going to be using ambulance-chaser law firms that advertise on TV for this. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/15 "2010-02-18T20:14:51Z")
Yeah, Lower Merion is a _very_ interesting place for this to be happening, both because the school has a LOT to lose and because a class action is going to be bringing together a lot of very wealthy people. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/16 "2010-02-18T20:22:07Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > And I’m sure that somewhere in the mountain of papers that almost invariably accompanied the child home at the beginning of the school year was a release concerning this very issue, probably buried in the acknowledgment of receipt of the laptop in the first place. Probably thoroughly buried as who would agree to such a thing if they knew? ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/17 "2010-02-18T20:24:41Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > I’m beyond appalled. > > It also raises the specter of the school usurping parental authority. It depends what the “inappropriate behavior” was, of course. But what might be inappropriate to one adult may be allowed or even encouraged by the parents. It makes no difference what the inappropriate behavior was; no school has any right at all to remotely activate a web cam and spy on students at home. The entire administration of that school should lose their licenses and be fired out of hand. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/18 "2010-02-18T20:27:15Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > It makes no difference what the inappropriate behavior was; no school has any right at all to remotely activate a web cam and spy on students at home. The entire administration of that school should lose their licenses and be fired out of hand. Not to mention the fact that you can only pull this stunt once before students stop using their laptops, let alone leaving them open while they do inappropriate things (this time it’s not a sexual euphemism!). ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/19 "2010-02-18T20:29:15Z")
Some more information from [philly.com](http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/84715512.html?cmpid=15585797): > [@](#): > > Doug Young, spokesman for the Lower Merion School District, said all 2,290 high school students in the district had been issued Apple laptops. > > “This is the first we have heard of this lawsuit being filed and the plaintiff’s allegations,” he said today. “However, we can categorically state that we are - and have always been - committed to protecting the privacy of our students.” At this point, this appears to be only an allegation from a lawsuit filed last week by one boy’s parents, and the school district is denying any knowledge of the spying. It may be that the only idiot is one school administrator. This would make a lot more sense to me than supposed several people or a whole school district thought this was a good idea. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510/20 "2010-02-18T20:29:34Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Probably thoroughly buried as who would agree to such a thing if they knew? Can you give ‘informed’ consent if you weren’t informed. This talk of ‘fine print’ authorization would never hold up in court. Would it? Maybe a lawyer could elaborate on _this_ point (not the bigger issue in this thread), please. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hol-eeee-crap-school-suspends-student-after-spying-on-him/529510.md?page=2)