School official accused of accessing student's Facebook account
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EVERETT, Wash. -- There are 484 friends on Samantha Negrete's Facebook page. None of them are teachers or staff at North Middle School in Everett.
That didn't prevent one of them from allegedly accessing her private page.
"Her right to privacy was violated," said Kevin McCollum, Negrete's stepfather. "What happened is not respectful. It is a violation of her trust."
McCollum said Negrete, a standout athlete and good student at the school, came to her parents in tears last Thursday. She said she'd been called to the middle school's front office to meet with an assistant principal.
"He logged out (of his page) and said, 'Log into your Facebook page.'" said Negrete's mom, Connie Becerra. "She then said that she turned around and said, 'Why am I doing this?' and was told, 'Log into your Facebook page, please.' So, through fear, she logged into her Facebook page."
"He proceeded to sit down and go through students' pages and opened up numerous kids' Facebooks and looked through pictures and postings," Becerra said.
"Finally Sami said, 'What are you looking for?' and he said, 'I'm looking for a picture your friend had posted,'" recounted McCollum.
A student at the school was later called into the front office and suspended as a result of what administrators saw, McCollum said.
"There was no right for anybody to come in and ask her to open up her personal information to obtain any information about anybody else," added Becerra. "That's just something you cannot do."
The Everett Public School district is now investigating what happened, said Mary Waggoner, director of communications. She added that school administrators were looking for evidence of cyberbullying, which may have taken place during school hours using a cell phone. That would be a violation of district policy.
"What we do know is the bullying took place and the technicalities of how that was uncovered are part of that investigative process," Waggoner said.
When asked if a student was ordered to log in to her Facebook page as part of the district's investigation, Waggoner said, "That is part of the investigation."
The American Civil Liberties Union is also investigating, and is now working with the family to see if Negrete's civil rights and privacy were violated.
"Students' private communication is private," said Linda Mangel, with the ACLU of Washington. "Just because it's in Facebook or email or on a cell phone doesn't give schools any more right to search that than they would have to ask you to bring in your personal journal or diary from home and read it cover to cover."
The district said it could have the results of its investigation as early as Friday.
"I want kids to know they have rights," Becerra said. "the (school's) job is to keep our children safe and to give them a good education, not to bring them in and scare them."
That didn't prevent one of them from allegedly accessing her private page.
"Her right to privacy was violated," said Kevin McCollum, Negrete's stepfather. "What happened is not respectful. It is a violation of her trust."
McCollum said Negrete, a standout athlete and good student at the school, came to her parents in tears last Thursday. She said she'd been called to the middle school's front office to meet with an assistant principal.
"He logged out (of his page) and said, 'Log into your Facebook page.'" said Negrete's mom, Connie Becerra. "She then said that she turned around and said, 'Why am I doing this?' and was told, 'Log into your Facebook page, please.' So, through fear, she logged into her Facebook page."
"He proceeded to sit down and go through students' pages and opened up numerous kids' Facebooks and looked through pictures and postings," Becerra said.
"Finally Sami said, 'What are you looking for?' and he said, 'I'm looking for a picture your friend had posted,'" recounted McCollum.
A student at the school was later called into the front office and suspended as a result of what administrators saw, McCollum said.
"There was no right for anybody to come in and ask her to open up her personal information to obtain any information about anybody else," added Becerra. "That's just something you cannot do."
The Everett Public School district is now investigating what happened, said Mary Waggoner, director of communications. She added that school administrators were looking for evidence of cyberbullying, which may have taken place during school hours using a cell phone. That would be a violation of district policy.
"What we do know is the bullying took place and the technicalities of how that was uncovered are part of that investigative process," Waggoner said.
When asked if a student was ordered to log in to her Facebook page as part of the district's investigation, Waggoner said, "That is part of the investigation."
The American Civil Liberties Union is also investigating, and is now working with the family to see if Negrete's civil rights and privacy were violated.
"Students' private communication is private," said Linda Mangel, with the ACLU of Washington. "Just because it's in Facebook or email or on a cell phone doesn't give schools any more right to search that than they would have to ask you to bring in your personal journal or diary from home and read it cover to cover."
The district said it could have the results of its investigation as early as Friday.
"I want kids to know they have rights," Becerra said. "the (school's) job is to keep our children safe and to give them a good education, not to bring them in and scare them."
No, entitlement is out of control. Sue the school? Give me a friction break. I don't necessarily agree with what they did, but kids should be a little fearful of what they post. I'm quite sure the school was trying to protect it's students.
Schools are out of freaking control.
I hope the patents sue the school and the assistant principle and I hope police charge him with coercion.
@RalphCramden Control freaks do that.
@Saltire
And schools are full of control freaks.
You know why this would NEVER happen at my wife's school? Because Facebook is blocked, all the time, for everyone.
Just sayin'
Here's the transcript of a high school girls Facebook page if you're interested:
:)
;)
:P
"Gucci"
"Goo-Gee"
"Wut? Up!"
"Like, oh my god, did u c Hannah today? Whatever. What evr!"
"And like I barely know him, and I don't even ever talk to him."
"And she;s all like... and I'm all like.... and so, u know, like whatever."
creeper alert
Anyone looking for a principal's position in WA? I suspect one will be opening up soon.
He went too far, at least he could have requested she open her page, he also accessed other students facebook pages without their Knowledge.It is very ironic that schools main goal is to prepare students to become productive self sufficient members of society, but then violate their rights. A great sound and fury ensues if rights are violated due to race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.of an adult, but youths simply by being young, are excluded
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@feral Give it little more time, and it could become illegal. Especially, with more drones and cameras everywhere.
@feral Maybe, just maybe you could come up with some new material. I understand you are scared of "obummer" coming for your guns, but come on.....
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@Sunrise26 @cwpholder @feral @OregonizeÂ
Yep it is.. Thank you.. :)
The text is rather tiny but it says "The first choice in feminine protection." LOL
@cwpholder @feral @Oregonize Is that what is on your avatar? A PIECE symbol? (If so, I like it!) :)
@feral @OregonizeÂ
I protect myself with love and a PIECE. Â :P
Sounds like we are living under the communists?
Don't worry folks, nothing to see here, big brother loves you and promises never to access your FB account ever again. Despite us being a police/nanny state, we promise never to harm your child ever again! *sigh*
teach your kids to just say no
@bydl
Problem is that you're also taught to respect administrators and to do what they tell you to. Most kids would be too afraid to say no to an administrator when they made a request like that. And that is how they get away with doing things they shouldn't.
Boo hoo. Negrete's "rights" got violated??? She should have reported any cyberbullying post the MOMENT she saw it. And if she hadn't seen the one in question yet, then she should be glad that she was able to help protect someone from being bullied - or worse.
Back in the day if you passed notes in class, the teacher confiscated and read them. These notes are no different except that they're digital.
Good for these school officials for stepping up and taking seriously the problem of bullying. Preventing bullying - and possibly suicides - WAY trumps infringements on ones right to be, or protect, mean, vindictive little jerks.
(Do agree with posters below who point out that this should have been handled better, though.)
@gofigure >'Back in the day if you passed notes in class, the teacher confiscated and read them. These notes are no different except that they're digital.'
One thought. There is a (legal) difference in that the arena in which the 'notes' were 'passed' was not the schools property. The thought line is akin to if your kids were at home saying mean things about another kid. The school does not have authority or mandate to do something. It falls under the perview of the parent to react accordingly. Likewise with facebook.
IMO, if your child is under 18, you should be logging into their various internet accounts regularly. You should then engage them on any questionable posts.Â
Now, if the child (or children, as it appears the case may be) were to ACT on those suggestions and/or 'bullying' posts on school property, I could justify the school contacting the parents. At that point (in regards to my other post), if the principal were to explain to me what they were looking for, I would log into my daughters FB account and actually help them search. Whatever punishment the schools imposed would pale by comparison to mine, I guarantee it.Â
The article is abiguous (at best) about the alleged bullying, so I'm at a loss as to know if I feel it was an over reaction.Â
@gofigure " (Do agree with posters below who point out that this should have been handled better, though)"....So if this "evidence" of bullying were in fact obtained improperly, shouldn't the student who was suspended be in fact re-instated? If yes, then does this childs parents have a concern as to whether or not their child was improperly suspended? If they decide to sue, who wins and who loses? my bet is the taxpayer loses thanks to your mentality of the ends justifies the means.
@gofigure This girl has 448 "friends" and they singled her out instead of going to the root of their suspicions, good intentions, very poor execution and judgement.Â
"Preventing bullying - and possibly suicides - WAY trumps infringements on ones right to be, or protect, mean, vindictive little jerks." - wow, you'd be a perfect candidate for head of Homeland Security, they trump individual rights daily in the name self righteousness.Â
@gofigure I think you might feel differently about this if it was your boss that had asked you to log into your online accounts/email/paypal/banking/social networking to check up on a co-workers posts or activities.  Where is the line drawn?  The intent was noble, the action was not.  They could have asked for her permission, let her know what their goal was.  If she turned them down, perhaps they could have asked her parents for assistance in explaining what the end goal was.  If that didn't work and they were fearful of another's safety, they should have called the local police.
The public school system progresses toward the need to level it and start over.Â
Like a school version of the patriot act, except it was illegal what the school did. Ironically this could very well lead to more bullying for the girl whom they themselves bullied into getting access to her FB page.
Here is someone who's contract should not be renewed.
Wasn't Ron Wyden working on some cyber-privacy laws in Washington, DC.?
Another case where the laws haven't kept up with the times.Â
Personally, I would hope that my daughter would simply tell him no. Check and mate. He (the principal) neither has the right or the authority to compel her to do so and any repercussions she might face because she said no I would challenge in court.Â
If I did get a call from him, my response would have been something along the lines of "okay, let me have your login." Tit for tat, don't 'cha know?
I agree with CWP below. It's always hard to seek "justice" without behaving unjustly.
I guess it takes a BULLY to catch a BULLY.. That's what he did- he bullied her..
Hypocritical at the least, Â possibly a violation of her rights and criminal. She should've been allowed to call her parents FIRST and have one of them present when he ordered her to turn over her personal, private property!Â
@cwpholder
And the parents could have said no without any repercussions to the child (although I don't agree that not helping is helpful).
This is similar to what this administrator did.Â
They walked the child to their home nearby, then instructed the child to let them in that home.Â
Now Facebook has rules about minors with accounts, they only have then under parent's direction and the parents are the ones who sign the EULA and enforce Facebook's CoC. They are the ones who technically "own" the page.Â
Therefore there is good reason to think what the administrator did was illegal.Â
But it gets better.Â
My nephew became a "Duck" football player this year. The coaches are under very strict NCAA regulation, but they have team captains. When my nephew reported to his captain the kid told him "I am going to know everything you put in your Facebook page and need full access".Â
I wonder how long it will be before parents will be required to give access to school administrators the social networking information of their children who attend the school as a standard.
@Repoman @cwpholder >'I wonder how long it will be before parents will be required to give access to school administrators the social networking information of their children who attend the school as a standard.'
In a public school setting, I would challenge any such mandates under protections of privacy, due process and freedoms of speech and/or expression. I would take it to the supreme court if necessary.Â
As I mentioned, this is one area in which law has lagged behind technologies.Â
as the story is read, it's also dangerously close to thought crimes, and having teachers/administrators assume police powers and authority.Â
@MarkKpic @Repoman @cwpholder ~ "In a public school setting, I would challenge any such mandates under protections of privacy, due process and freedoms of speech and/or expression. I would take it to the supreme court if necessary."  (from MarKKpic's post)
Good piost, Mark..! Â I would probably tell any school administrator that demanded my kid's password to a personal social network account to basically "go pound sand"... and if they didn't like that, the legal challenges would begin... Teachers and/or other school personnel do not - and SHOULD not - have police powers / authority... Â That isn't even a "slippery slope"; Â it's a direct drop right off the cliff..!
Talk about an invasion of privacy, particularly when the student in question wasn't even the one doing the supposed "cyberbullying". I think parents need to reiterate to their children that it's okay to say NO to an adult when it comes to this sort of thing. Then again, anytime the question as to whether I have a Facebook page comes up (for interviews, etc), I merely tell them "NO."Â
Calling a student into the office with the explicit intent to request private information is akin to intimidation as well, considering the administrator is in a "position of power".
@advocatus diaboliÂ
Gotta agree here.. I've always told my sons "if a teacher, principal or even the police try to question you, tell them you're not saying a word until dad or I get there."Â
What he did was a crime, same as if he grabbed her purse and searched it. There was no imminent threat- if they had knowledge of a firearm at school, a bomb or something than extreme measures might be warranted but even the police couldn't have searched her personal property, without a warrant, under those circumstances.Â
Real friends and Facebook friends are not the same thing.  Besides, if you are so into yourself or  ignorant that you have to post personal things on any social media, you have problems.  The mindset of kids now seems to be that they think they can post anything they want and not be held responsible for it.  Same goes for many adults.  You guys better get your head out of your you know what and become part of the real world.  You will be held responsible for your actions, one way or another.
@Shadow Sometimes I'm glad kids are dumb enough to post incriminating things on FB, it's really shown me what they're capable of.
@Shadow There is allot of truth in your comments Shadow...but the basic presumption that "private" is private is something worth preserving. There is a right way and a wrong way to go about investigating and this is an example of a previously undefined or unexplored wrong way.
@ShadowÂ
Of course and that's how it should be but...
He had no right to search her property, without a warrant, not even the police could've searched under that circumstance. There wasn't a threat and she wasn't the person that violated the rules.. They used her and her property to get evidence against another student. That student didn't commit a crime, he/she broke a rule.Â
I agree people should not be able to post whatever they want without some consequences but the law is still catching up.. Also an adult, in authority should NOT be able to "bully a student", which he did, in order to gather evidence against a third person for the very thing he did to that girl.Â
Kind of ironic & hypocritical dontcha' think? Â BULLY somebody to get evidence of somebody else being a BULLY! Â SMH!Â
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@Dr. Rawdog Well, yes, but from the story this child wasn't the one who made questionable postings. He accessed her page solely so he could browse the pages of OTHER kids. She didn't do anything wrong.
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@Dr. Rawdog @WhenCowsAttackÂ
Problem is that they aren't ashamed of it. They think it is funny when they put up something that harasses, embarrasses, or bullies someone else.
@Dr. Rawdog @WhenCowsAttack Ahh HAH, you *are* onto something, as usual! :-)
This is what happens when you allow the gov. to raise your kids in school, then they continue to take over in other areas of your life. Want the government to parent your kids??? Expect this to happen. A good parent knows what your child is up to. That includes taking liberties with all aspects of your childs life. Welcome to the NEW America, fools.
bullies unit! we need to fight for our rights to keep the nerds in check with purple nurples and fairly distributed noogies. a rally is being held at recess today. internet bullies are welcome to attend via live streaming chat provided by some computer geeks we have apprehended
This school official, in a feeble attempt to root out "bullying" in his school, bullied a student without cause, without consulting said students parents, and in my opinion should be reprimanded. If it is determined that this was approved by the District's Superintendant's office, some heads should roll. If you did this with a child of mine you'd be facing litigation.
@danoseknows "bullied a student without cause"
BINGO!!! Â Ding, ding, ding we have a winner!Â
@danoseknowsÂ
Bullied to "prevent" a bully.Â
Does this qualify as irony?
@Repoman @danoseknowsÂ
Closer to hypocrisy, I think.. Â
You don't really have a right to privacy on the internet, let alone on Facebook.Â
@HarryReamsÂ
If someone has to bully/force you into logging into something so they can see it, then there is a violation of privacy. Had it been out there for anyone to see, that would be one thing. But it wasn't. You had to specifically be allowed to see that material.
@HarryReams 100% correct....privacy has been dead since the 80's
@HarryReams There are bills in place to prevent employers from asking you for your passwords, specifically because they say it does violate privacy and if you have your settings to private, then you have some sort of reasonable expectation of privacy.
Anyway, as a parent I'd be livid if a principal did this to my child without my knowledge. He should've called the parents AND child in, explained the situation, and ASKED for help, which I am sure they would have given.
@WhenCowsAttack @HarryReams ~  Excellent post, WCA..!   The ass't principal's "intent" might have been OK, but he used VERY poor judgment by not having one of Miss Negrete's parents present... and, as you said, ASKING for their help, rather than "demanding" compliance from Miss Negrete...  Very badly handled, IMHO...Â
@WhenCowsAttack @HarryReams Good pointÂ
@HarryReams You give up a lot of your privacy on Facebook. It was started as a social network but it now exists solely to mine data from its users.
@HarryReams That's obviously being tested right now.Â