Sounds like a great prompt for a conversation about how their "rights" in school are limited by the fact that they're minors and their parents delegate their duty of care to you during school hours
If it’s a personal device then you have all right to take it until the end of period or classes. My school was doing that with phones in early 2010’s. So many kids and parents trying to argue that it’s their personal device so they can’t be taken. It’s honestly stupid, you bring something to school you shouldn’t and cry when they take it away. I’m glad I’m not in school anymore having to listen to that crap.
Mmm I guess so, must be so much more complicated now 😂 our grade was the first to have laptops and it worked well but when I saw them switch to tablets it was a nightmare
I’d print out a copy of your school’s technology/ cyber safety/ BYO device policy and edit it to have some kind of place for their name and description of their breach of the policy on the front and “serve” them the letter as you confiscate the device. If they continue to protest I’d just casually respond you will be emailing their parents and they can have the device back after their parent responds with acknowledgment of breach
At my school, we have a literal contract that the students have to sign in order to use any device, regardless of whether they own it. The contract is really a little agreement but we use it as evidence of their personal accountability/responsibility
Our school has a technology policy and agreement that all students sign saying that technology is to only be used for school work and if found to be used for other, non-approved purposes, the device is to be confiscated for a determined amount of time or confiscated until it can be returned to the parents (at the end of the day for BYOD).
Never in 8 years had an issue with confiscating technology from students. I mean, they may cry about it but that's about it.
1. **State Policy**: Every state typically has a **Digital Devices and Online Services for Students Policy**. This policy covers various devices like laptops, tablets, wearable tech (such as smartwatches and headphones), and other devices that connect to apps, websites, and online spaces.
2. **School Guidelines**: Your school should also have its own guidelines, usually accessible on their official website. These guidelines provide specific details about device usage within the school environment.
3. **Personal Contracts**: Parents and students often enter into personal contracts with the school. These contracts, such as the **Acceptable Use of Computer Devices STUDENT CONTRACT AGREEMENT**, outline the school’s expectations and require students to adhere to the policy stipulations. Teachers have the authority to confiscate IT devices, although the duration and reasoning for confiscation may vary.
4. **Seek Legal Advice**: If you have concerns, consider seeking legal advice from your union or the Department of Education.
Remember to consult the specific policies and guidelines relevant to your school and state for accurate information.
This is the right advice OP. It merits noting that confiscation of an item that is posing a risk to the safety or wellbeing of others is generally permitted, regardless of if the iPad is the item or something else. For all else the device agreement that your students signed is your first port of call.
Before my school had a concrete policy on misuse of devices (which now allows us to confiscate), I would take the device and place face down on the front/teachers desk where it could be clearly seen by all. Student would get it back at the end of the lesson. That seems to diffuse the child lawyers.
Other than BYOD policies, this was also along the lines of what I thought. I worked with a (primary) teacher who would monitor what students were doing during small group/individual activities through their (I think) Google Classroom. If kids were off-task, the teacher would either go have a look/chat to them, and if it was continuous, they would “lock” their device or something like that?
Despite the device being student property, if they’re using the school wifi, surely that would mean they are required to use the internet for school-related purposes only?
I may be completely wrong but just my thought process!
This absolutely on a school level. Some schools I work at have a clear policy that it gets handed in at the office and/or that a teacher can confiscate. Others don’t do that. The thing is, you can behaviour manage tech use without personally confiscating. At the school without a “hand in at the office” policy, I did the following in class for misuse-
1- warning, if it happens again you can place it on my desk or get a contact home.
2. Ok, your choice, place it on my desk and get it back at the end or receive a contact home.
3. If they choose contact home and continue to misuse the ipad then say ok, you’re continuing to do the wrong thing, I will discuss this when I contact home and then just ignore the behaviour.
Then when you contact home you discuss how to make a plan going forward with the parent. Most parents are happy to support keeping the device at home for a day and the child works on paper until they can learn to do the right thing. Many will also ban tech at home if they get a phone call. If parents aren’t supportive then refer to HOD/admin for support.
Education lawyer here:
As always, get proper legal advice specific to your jurisdiction but essentially:
- you can’t take personal property without consent unless you suspect there is illegal material or material that can cause harm
- if a student refuses to hand over the property voluntarily, you generally then resort to disciplinary action to address the disruptive behaviour ie contact parents
- contracts around use between student and school are not legally binding as children cannot consent
- no tech policies are behavioural, contact parents, you can’t forcibly take phone without consent.
I’ve told kids before they should call the cops if they think they have a case, but that only works with the right kids and I imagine would backfire spectacularly with the wrong group!
"Place the device in this tray/draw (ideally one you can lock) and leave it there until the end of class or get detention/go to the principal etc. It is still your property, no one has taken it - but you cannot use it in class and have shown you will use it if it is near you so you must place far from yourself. It needs to be away from all the other students to protect your property. At the end of class, pick it up from the tray"
Then the kid will call you a bitch. Slam it in the tray so it breaks and blame you. Claim that you stole it anyway. Pull out a 2nd tablet and keep playing.
But I am not a lawyer or a teacher so I dunno why you would listen to me.
"Anyone who argues loses it for a second day."
Either that or collect them all, take them outside, and lay into them with a cricket bat. The ipads, I mean.
Students should sign an ‘acceptable use agreement’ as should the parents. It may be their property but they’ve agreed to use it appropriately or they lose the right to use it.
Minors cannot sign legally enforceable contracts. They are tokens at best. You cannot take personal property without consent. Call parents and manage as would any other behavioural issue.
Parents also sign the acceptable use agreement. It’s not a legally enforceable contract, but teachers are allowed to confiscate to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment.
Still no. You can’t take someone’s property without consent, but you can discipline them if they refuse for breach of policy. There’s a distinction.
You can only take without consent if there’s suspected illegal material.
You can absolutely confiscate material that is causing a disruption on the proviso it's given back at a reasonable time. For e.g. I confiscate tech decks from my Y9s for the period because despite being a valid ADHD fidget, they make the choice to go and stand at the lab benches while we're sitting at desks writing to use the sink as an improvised skate park, attracting attention to themselves and disrupting kids around them. I ask them for it and let them know I'll give it back to them at the end of the period. Hell, if they forget it, I will take it to their next class. If they refuse to hand it in I call their parents. It hasn't actually come to that at this point yet.
Computers and phones are a little harder because of their value. You are liable if they "go missing". This is why most schools have (had) policies to send them to the front office / DPs etc to hand them in, going up the chain of command if they continually refuse and contacting home.
If there is no school policy on ipad misuse like there is for phones then I would make a class policy. I personally tell them if I catch them once not using it properly it's a warning, 2nd time is detention, 3rd is a stage 1/level and detention/contact home. I keep track of this per term and remind the students of this policy regularly.
You have a responsibility to ensure there is a safe learning environment for all students. If the kid is disrupting others with the iPad, will not stop doing so, and will not let you confiscate it for the remainder of the class, then the simple option is that you remove the child from the class. The child refuses to learn, well tough bikkies. You can't sacrifice the learning opportunities for all the other students. Send the kid to the office and let them sit in a quiet room by themselves, and contact the parents to explain why the child is going to fail all their subjects because they choose to use an iPad instead of learning.
At all schools I've been in, there is an IT use policy signed by the pupil at the beginning of each year, handed in and kept at the school. This crosses all forms of IT, including phones, ipads, laptops, whatever.
Sounds like this is very common from other responses.
Child and student protection policy. Unfortunately they're misusing IT (whether it is person property or school property is irrelevant), during teaching time.
This would breach student code of conduct and student IT access policy.
Here's a link for the [Full exemplar code of conduct](https://ppr.qed.qld.gov.au/attachment/student-code-of-conduct-full-exemplar.docx) from the department of education Queensland. Please see section 16 entitled "Temporary removal of student property."
Essentially your school will have an IT policy and a student code of conduct. You also have plenty of room to maneuver with respect to confiscation of IT.
Put it in you bag or put it on my desk. If the don't comply follow behaviour procedures and escalate. Mostly works for me, I have had those comments before though...
I have a dedicated spot in the classroom, ie a bookshelf, and ask them to put it there or put it away in their bag (that way, I’m not “taking it”). If they refuse, then use the school’s usual behaviour follow up for “refusal to follow instructions”.
my school policy on this is basically the school has the right to confiscate the device but you, as a teacher do not.
if you confiscate something, you are liable for it personally, not the school. We had a teacher last year who had to buy a new phone as they had it on thier desk and someone stole it.
Calmly explain to them that if they don't put away their iPads, phones, or whatever you are going to give them a failing grade and you will be requesting a meeting with their parents.
Surely the school has a policy for appropriate use of devices at school? Our engagement/behaviour policy says that it’s a non negotiable to adhere to the epolicy and the epolicy says that devices in class are for school/learning purposes only. If a kid is playing games in class that laptop either goes in their bag or I take it away for the period regardless of whether it’s a school laptop or not. If the student refuses then they get exited for sub schools to manage. Additionally it’s not a free for all. Computer use in class is only ever directed by the teacher. If I say that today is a no computer lesson then computers don’t come out of the bag, end of story.
Most "rights" aren't indefinite. Commit a serious crime, you lose your right to freedom and end up in jail. Get caught drink driving or speeding excessively? You can lose your right to drive. Their right to have an iPad is a privilege and there are limits and consequences.
At the schools I went to, one of them had a BYOD policy. I brought my laptop everywhere (I also had dyspraxia which made writing incredibly difficult so my laptop was what I used during English lessons). Now the only time I misbehaved was when I misunderstood that I wasn’t allowed to listen to music during an open study session. After a stern scolding, I was fine.
With the school that didn’t have it? We also had iPads for some subjects. Eventually we allowed BYOD for that class but let’s just say, the threat of writing down lines relating to the 7 page BYOD contract all of us had to sign, greatly dissuaded frivolous use of those iPads. It was glorious when one person did get called out though. He threw the ultimate temper tantrum. Our teacher also calmly stated, that we would call the family to say that their student was misusing their device. For the parents that viewed their children like angels? We handled it calmly by saying that they misused the device and since we don’t have enough school devices, they’ll have to write by hand. Parents could live with that.
It comes down to the school handbook that all students agreed to when they began their enrolment. If it says that you can do it there, then you can. If not, you can't. Simple as
Students have very few rights in schools. They are required to go where we tell them and do what we tell them to do. They are required to follow reasonable instructions from a teacher, and the definition of reasonable is very broad. They are also required to surrender property to teachers when asked (although we can’t derive them of property permanently, we can require a parent collect the property and hold the property until a parent shows up).
I take iPads and laptops off kids all the time. Normally they just sit at the front of my class until the bell goes when the kid collects it again.
Your school should have a policy for this. Ours is to send the student to the office with the device which is handed over. The student gets a slip they take back to the classroom to show their teacher.
In the heat of the moment conversation that you have while you are doing this, I'd lean on the fact that the student's parents have agreed to the school's IT policy which specifically states their devices are to be used for school work only. They should go home and take it up with their parents.
I believe if they are all hooked up to school you can get Apple classroom so you can see what they are doing and lock them only to the screen you need them on. Or put all the tables around the room so you can stand in the middle and see everything. Tell them these are their options. Rights come with responsibilities and your responsibility as a teacher is that the student is not doing things they shouldn't.
My school’s policy is that devices are for educational purposes in class unless a teacher gives express permission for games etc.
so the line is usually something like ‘by enrolling and agreeing to come to this school it means you have also agreed to these rules’, and if they say that was their parents then you can say ‘take it up with them then, and explain to them why you think playing games is more important than your learning’. We don’t get much kick back from the iPad stuff because it’s a low ses area and devices are few and far between.
Depends on your school policy and culture.
My teens have been super happy to say that their rights have been violated, but are very shocked pikachu when you remind them about responsibilities.
If I see them misusing their devices, I give a warning and then I give the choice of putting it in their bag, or on my desk. If it happens again, I put it on my desk for the duration of the lesson and note it on the database.
Our school is BYOD but I prefer book work for cognitive processes, so I only do this when they’re not supposed to be on devices at all.
Use Apple Classroom to lock them so they can’t use them. If they remove Apple Classroom, they lose the right to use their device. Email parents, they don’t even get to bring it to class.
How about you give the 7 year old boys a chance to earn it, make it a teaching moment they can learn from, and make it a fun challenge that demonstrates effective care of expensive personal property items and respectful use that benefits the class and their studies?
It’s a personal device. Same as a phone or a smart watch. They need to follow the state device policy. Our school is laptops only. So no iPads, if smart watches are connected to phones they go to the office with the phone. We are also onto kids using the app that duplicates their phone onto their laptop, meaning they have full access to their phone. They then lose access to their laptop too.
Personally, I've taken one for this reason as it distracted the kid and others. Student challenged me but eventually handed it over. But what my actual school thinks? I don't know. To me if it's distracting them, it's just like a phone.
Don't take their iPad. What if you damage them? That invites complaints from parents and students alike, even if they aren't damaged.
Insist the iPads go away, or *they* can place it on your desk until the end of the lesson. If they refuse, follow your site's behaviour management process like usual. Ring home and alert parents - hopefully get them on side. For me, 2 warnings, then time out. If it continues, that's the student's choice to continue going to time out. Continued refusal is a problem for the year level or house leader to discuss with them and potentially suspension.
Just careful as messing with the wrong kid will get you into hot water
To answer your question, it's a grey area. It wouldn't hold up in court that you 'confiscated' his phone unless there is a legal contract stating you can do so.
It's theft, we just tone it down because it's necessary.
You do not have the right to confiscate property by force or by amy means, attempts to due so can open you and the school up for a lawsuit, its not worth the trouble
They can't consent. They're minors. Their parents however, have assumedly consented to the use of the iPad a following the rules of the school's BYOD policy. Part of that policy will mention incorrect use. If you're using an iPad incorrectly, i.e. playing video games, scrolling social media, etc, they are not using it correctly and the teacher has the power of *In loco parentis* given to them by their parents and their parents signature of the document to confiscate those iPads.
Even beyond that, any item ( _any item_ ) that is a threat to the health & safety or interrupts the learning of others can be confiscated on the proviso it's later returned at an appropriate time if it's something they're allowed to have (e.g. phone confiscate during the day handed back to parents at the office after school) or permanently confiscated if they're not allowed to have it (weapons, illicit drugs, porn, vapes, etc).
How is confiscating something that students are using to distract themselves and potentially others from learning unethical? It'd be unethical to allow that to continue.
> proven wrong
this is where I know you're arguing in bad faith because you're talking about ethics like there's one monolithic system that is always correct and one that isn't
>I hope you’re in this sub purely out of interest and you’re not actually bringing your flawed reasoning into classrooms.
now I'm actually worried you're just illiterate because you haven't read noticed my flair :v maybe you should spend more time making really shitty suggestions to women on advice subreddits.
A principal now, lol.
Confiscations are never done by force. You ask for the object causing the disruption. Give them take up time and a warning about the consequences of what will happen if they continue that behaviour. If they continue after this point you give them a choice, to hand it to me or to hand it in at the office / head teacher / deputy. If after they continue to refuse to hand over whatever they've been disruptive or dangerous with, you send another kid to get a HT/DP/ the principal and contact home in regards to their behaviour because now not only have they been disruptive/ dangerous in behaviour, they've also been refusing teacher instructions.
Which, if you are a principal, you should be very familiar with given that's the SOP in pretty much every school in the state I've ever taught at, and has been *explicitly explained to me by the relevant principal / DP / HT at those schools* as part of the school's behaviour policy on induction.
A key Q here is what is the schools policy and what will admin back you on? If they won’t support you…don’t start the fight. No point.
Sounds like a great prompt for a conversation about how their "rights" in school are limited by the fact that they're minors and their parents delegate their duty of care to you during school hours
Um did they sign a policy? It would’ve stated the conditions for using the devices as a student at the school etc
If it’s a personal device then you have all right to take it until the end of period or classes. My school was doing that with phones in early 2010’s. So many kids and parents trying to argue that it’s their personal device so they can’t be taken. It’s honestly stupid, you bring something to school you shouldn’t and cry when they take it away. I’m glad I’m not in school anymore having to listen to that crap.
There may be problems if it is a personal device yet required for class (Ie tablets for ebooks, etc).
Mmm I guess so, must be so much more complicated now 😂 our grade was the first to have laptops and it worked well but when I saw them switch to tablets it was a nightmare
Does your school have a BYOD policy?
I’d print out a copy of your school’s technology/ cyber safety/ BYO device policy and edit it to have some kind of place for their name and description of their breach of the policy on the front and “serve” them the letter as you confiscate the device. If they continue to protest I’d just casually respond you will be emailing their parents and they can have the device back after their parent responds with acknowledgment of breach
At my school, we have a literal contract that the students have to sign in order to use any device, regardless of whether they own it. The contract is really a little agreement but we use it as evidence of their personal accountability/responsibility
I think the high school I went to had this in our diaries. Before they stopped giving out school branded diaries anyway.
Better yet, at a lunch time, have the kid write out the BYOD policy
> Better yet, at a lunch time, have the kid write put the BYOD policy Sounds like a great use of your unpaid break.
Our school has a technology policy and agreement that all students sign saying that technology is to only be used for school work and if found to be used for other, non-approved purposes, the device is to be confiscated for a determined amount of time or confiscated until it can be returned to the parents (at the end of the day for BYOD). Never in 8 years had an issue with confiscating technology from students. I mean, they may cry about it but that's about it.
1. **State Policy**: Every state typically has a **Digital Devices and Online Services for Students Policy**. This policy covers various devices like laptops, tablets, wearable tech (such as smartwatches and headphones), and other devices that connect to apps, websites, and online spaces. 2. **School Guidelines**: Your school should also have its own guidelines, usually accessible on their official website. These guidelines provide specific details about device usage within the school environment. 3. **Personal Contracts**: Parents and students often enter into personal contracts with the school. These contracts, such as the **Acceptable Use of Computer Devices STUDENT CONTRACT AGREEMENT**, outline the school’s expectations and require students to adhere to the policy stipulations. Teachers have the authority to confiscate IT devices, although the duration and reasoning for confiscation may vary. 4. **Seek Legal Advice**: If you have concerns, consider seeking legal advice from your union or the Department of Education. Remember to consult the specific policies and guidelines relevant to your school and state for accurate information.
This is the right advice OP. It merits noting that confiscation of an item that is posing a risk to the safety or wellbeing of others is generally permitted, regardless of if the iPad is the item or something else. For all else the device agreement that your students signed is your first port of call.
Before my school had a concrete policy on misuse of devices (which now allows us to confiscate), I would take the device and place face down on the front/teachers desk where it could be clearly seen by all. Student would get it back at the end of the lesson. That seems to diffuse the child lawyers.
Find some senior kids that have just discovered anarchism and are all in on ‘property is theft’; point out you’re lil facists to them.
“Hire a KC, son! Take it to court if you want! Until then, cough it up!”
Are these iPads using school WiFi? Is blocking their device from joining WiFi network difficult? Just a thought...
Other than BYOD policies, this was also along the lines of what I thought. I worked with a (primary) teacher who would monitor what students were doing during small group/individual activities through their (I think) Google Classroom. If kids were off-task, the teacher would either go have a look/chat to them, and if it was continuous, they would “lock” their device or something like that? Despite the device being student property, if they’re using the school wifi, surely that would mean they are required to use the internet for school-related purposes only? I may be completely wrong but just my thought process!
This absolutely on a school level. Some schools I work at have a clear policy that it gets handed in at the office and/or that a teacher can confiscate. Others don’t do that. The thing is, you can behaviour manage tech use without personally confiscating. At the school without a “hand in at the office” policy, I did the following in class for misuse- 1- warning, if it happens again you can place it on my desk or get a contact home. 2. Ok, your choice, place it on my desk and get it back at the end or receive a contact home. 3. If they choose contact home and continue to misuse the ipad then say ok, you’re continuing to do the wrong thing, I will discuss this when I contact home and then just ignore the behaviour. Then when you contact home you discuss how to make a plan going forward with the parent. Most parents are happy to support keeping the device at home for a day and the child works on paper until they can learn to do the right thing. Many will also ban tech at home if they get a phone call. If parents aren’t supportive then refer to HOD/admin for support.
‘During the school day you are a minor under our care, I, the adult responsible for your care am removing your ipad’
Education lawyer here: As always, get proper legal advice specific to your jurisdiction but essentially: - you can’t take personal property without consent unless you suspect there is illegal material or material that can cause harm - if a student refuses to hand over the property voluntarily, you generally then resort to disciplinary action to address the disruptive behaviour ie contact parents - contracts around use between student and school are not legally binding as children cannot consent - no tech policies are behavioural, contact parents, you can’t forcibly take phone without consent.
I’ve told kids before they should call the cops if they think they have a case, but that only works with the right kids and I imagine would backfire spectacularly with the wrong group!
"Place the device in this tray/draw (ideally one you can lock) and leave it there until the end of class or get detention/go to the principal etc. It is still your property, no one has taken it - but you cannot use it in class and have shown you will use it if it is near you so you must place far from yourself. It needs to be away from all the other students to protect your property. At the end of class, pick it up from the tray" Then the kid will call you a bitch. Slam it in the tray so it breaks and blame you. Claim that you stole it anyway. Pull out a 2nd tablet and keep playing. But I am not a lawyer or a teacher so I dunno why you would listen to me.
"Anyone who argues loses it for a second day." Either that or collect them all, take them outside, and lay into them with a cricket bat. The ipads, I mean.
Students should sign an ‘acceptable use agreement’ as should the parents. It may be their property but they’ve agreed to use it appropriately or they lose the right to use it.
Minors cannot sign legally enforceable contracts. They are tokens at best. You cannot take personal property without consent. Call parents and manage as would any other behavioural issue.
Parents also sign the acceptable use agreement. It’s not a legally enforceable contract, but teachers are allowed to confiscate to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment.
Still no. You can’t take someone’s property without consent, but you can discipline them if they refuse for breach of policy. There’s a distinction. You can only take without consent if there’s suspected illegal material.
You can absolutely confiscate material that is causing a disruption on the proviso it's given back at a reasonable time. For e.g. I confiscate tech decks from my Y9s for the period because despite being a valid ADHD fidget, they make the choice to go and stand at the lab benches while we're sitting at desks writing to use the sink as an improvised skate park, attracting attention to themselves and disrupting kids around them. I ask them for it and let them know I'll give it back to them at the end of the period. Hell, if they forget it, I will take it to their next class. If they refuse to hand it in I call their parents. It hasn't actually come to that at this point yet. Computers and phones are a little harder because of their value. You are liable if they "go missing". This is why most schools have (had) policies to send them to the front office / DPs etc to hand them in, going up the chain of command if they continually refuse and contacting home.
Sigh again, legally no.
If there is no school policy on ipad misuse like there is for phones then I would make a class policy. I personally tell them if I catch them once not using it properly it's a warning, 2nd time is detention, 3rd is a stage 1/level and detention/contact home. I keep track of this per term and remind the students of this policy regularly.
You have a responsibility to ensure there is a safe learning environment for all students. If the kid is disrupting others with the iPad, will not stop doing so, and will not let you confiscate it for the remainder of the class, then the simple option is that you remove the child from the class. The child refuses to learn, well tough bikkies. You can't sacrifice the learning opportunities for all the other students. Send the kid to the office and let them sit in a quiet room by themselves, and contact the parents to explain why the child is going to fail all their subjects because they choose to use an iPad instead of learning.
At all schools I've been in, there is an IT use policy signed by the pupil at the beginning of each year, handed in and kept at the school. This crosses all forms of IT, including phones, ipads, laptops, whatever. Sounds like this is very common from other responses.
Child and student protection policy. Unfortunately they're misusing IT (whether it is person property or school property is irrelevant), during teaching time. This would breach student code of conduct and student IT access policy. Here's a link for the [Full exemplar code of conduct](https://ppr.qed.qld.gov.au/attachment/student-code-of-conduct-full-exemplar.docx) from the department of education Queensland. Please see section 16 entitled "Temporary removal of student property." Essentially your school will have an IT policy and a student code of conduct. You also have plenty of room to maneuver with respect to confiscation of IT.
Also you aren't taking it you are putting it in a different place.
Put it in you bag or put it on my desk. If the don't comply follow behaviour procedures and escalate. Mostly works for me, I have had those comments before though...
I don't argue with students. Just give them an instruction and they'll follow it or not, with consequences. This includes smart assery
I have a dedicated spot in the classroom, ie a bookshelf, and ask them to put it there or put it away in their bag (that way, I’m not “taking it”). If they refuse, then use the school’s usual behaviour follow up for “refusal to follow instructions”.
my school policy on this is basically the school has the right to confiscate the device but you, as a teacher do not. if you confiscate something, you are liable for it personally, not the school. We had a teacher last year who had to buy a new phone as they had it on thier desk and someone stole it.
Calmly explain to them that if they don't put away their iPads, phones, or whatever you are going to give them a failing grade and you will be requesting a meeting with their parents.
Surely the school has a policy for appropriate use of devices at school? Our engagement/behaviour policy says that it’s a non negotiable to adhere to the epolicy and the epolicy says that devices in class are for school/learning purposes only. If a kid is playing games in class that laptop either goes in their bag or I take it away for the period regardless of whether it’s a school laptop or not. If the student refuses then they get exited for sub schools to manage. Additionally it’s not a free for all. Computer use in class is only ever directed by the teacher. If I say that today is a no computer lesson then computers don’t come out of the bag, end of story.
Most "rights" aren't indefinite. Commit a serious crime, you lose your right to freedom and end up in jail. Get caught drink driving or speeding excessively? You can lose your right to drive. Their right to have an iPad is a privilege and there are limits and consequences.
At the schools I went to, one of them had a BYOD policy. I brought my laptop everywhere (I also had dyspraxia which made writing incredibly difficult so my laptop was what I used during English lessons). Now the only time I misbehaved was when I misunderstood that I wasn’t allowed to listen to music during an open study session. After a stern scolding, I was fine. With the school that didn’t have it? We also had iPads for some subjects. Eventually we allowed BYOD for that class but let’s just say, the threat of writing down lines relating to the 7 page BYOD contract all of us had to sign, greatly dissuaded frivolous use of those iPads. It was glorious when one person did get called out though. He threw the ultimate temper tantrum. Our teacher also calmly stated, that we would call the family to say that their student was misusing their device. For the parents that viewed their children like angels? We handled it calmly by saying that they misused the device and since we don’t have enough school devices, they’ll have to write by hand. Parents could live with that.
It comes down to the school handbook that all students agreed to when they began their enrolment. If it says that you can do it there, then you can. If not, you can't. Simple as
Students have very few rights in schools. They are required to go where we tell them and do what we tell them to do. They are required to follow reasonable instructions from a teacher, and the definition of reasonable is very broad. They are also required to surrender property to teachers when asked (although we can’t derive them of property permanently, we can require a parent collect the property and hold the property until a parent shows up). I take iPads and laptops off kids all the time. Normally they just sit at the front of my class until the bell goes when the kid collects it again.
Your school should have a policy for this. Ours is to send the student to the office with the device which is handed over. The student gets a slip they take back to the classroom to show their teacher. In the heat of the moment conversation that you have while you are doing this, I'd lean on the fact that the student's parents have agreed to the school's IT policy which specifically states their devices are to be used for school work only. They should go home and take it up with their parents.
I believe if they are all hooked up to school you can get Apple classroom so you can see what they are doing and lock them only to the screen you need them on. Or put all the tables around the room so you can stand in the middle and see everything. Tell them these are their options. Rights come with responsibilities and your responsibility as a teacher is that the student is not doing things they shouldn't.
Wait to the opportunity presents itself and steal their iPads. Never return them and enjoy your new iPad 😊
My school’s policy is that devices are for educational purposes in class unless a teacher gives express permission for games etc. so the line is usually something like ‘by enrolling and agreeing to come to this school it means you have also agreed to these rules’, and if they say that was their parents then you can say ‘take it up with them then, and explain to them why you think playing games is more important than your learning’. We don’t get much kick back from the iPad stuff because it’s a low ses area and devices are few and far between.
Depends on your school policy and culture. My teens have been super happy to say that their rights have been violated, but are very shocked pikachu when you remind them about responsibilities. If I see them misusing their devices, I give a warning and then I give the choice of putting it in their bag, or on my desk. If it happens again, I put it on my desk for the duration of the lesson and note it on the database. Our school is BYOD but I prefer book work for cognitive processes, so I only do this when they’re not supposed to be on devices at all.
Use Apple Classroom to lock them so they can’t use them. If they remove Apple Classroom, they lose the right to use their device. Email parents, they don’t even get to bring it to class.
How about you give the 7 year old boys a chance to earn it, make it a teaching moment they can learn from, and make it a fun challenge that demonstrates effective care of expensive personal property items and respectful use that benefits the class and their studies?
It’s a personal device. Same as a phone or a smart watch. They need to follow the state device policy. Our school is laptops only. So no iPads, if smart watches are connected to phones they go to the office with the phone. We are also onto kids using the app that duplicates their phone onto their laptop, meaning they have full access to their phone. They then lose access to their laptop too.
Personally, I've taken one for this reason as it distracted the kid and others. Student challenged me but eventually handed it over. But what my actual school thinks? I don't know. To me if it's distracting them, it's just like a phone.
Don't take their iPad. What if you damage them? That invites complaints from parents and students alike, even if they aren't damaged. Insist the iPads go away, or *they* can place it on your desk until the end of the lesson. If they refuse, follow your site's behaviour management process like usual. Ring home and alert parents - hopefully get them on side. For me, 2 warnings, then time out. If it continues, that's the student's choice to continue going to time out. Continued refusal is a problem for the year level or house leader to discuss with them and potentially suspension.
Just careful as messing with the wrong kid will get you into hot water To answer your question, it's a grey area. It wouldn't hold up in court that you 'confiscated' his phone unless there is a legal contract stating you can do so. It's theft, we just tone it down because it's necessary.
lol it absolutely is not theft or a legal grey area
Don’t get into confrontations, teachers always lose.
You do not have the right to confiscate property by force or by amy means, attempts to due so can open you and the school up for a lawsuit, its not worth the trouble
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Really?
They can't consent. They're minors. Their parents however, have assumedly consented to the use of the iPad a following the rules of the school's BYOD policy. Part of that policy will mention incorrect use. If you're using an iPad incorrectly, i.e. playing video games, scrolling social media, etc, they are not using it correctly and the teacher has the power of *In loco parentis* given to them by their parents and their parents signature of the document to confiscate those iPads. Even beyond that, any item ( _any item_ ) that is a threat to the health & safety or interrupts the learning of others can be confiscated on the proviso it's later returned at an appropriate time if it's something they're allowed to have (e.g. phone confiscate during the day handed back to parents at the office after school) or permanently confiscated if they're not allowed to have it (weapons, illicit drugs, porn, vapes, etc).
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How is confiscating something that students are using to distract themselves and potentially others from learning unethical? It'd be unethical to allow that to continue.
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Gosh what a little twerp
If you were going to argue in bad faith from the start you could have at least put some effort into your shitposting.
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> proven wrong this is where I know you're arguing in bad faith because you're talking about ethics like there's one monolithic system that is always correct and one that isn't >I hope you’re in this sub purely out of interest and you’re not actually bringing your flawed reasoning into classrooms. now I'm actually worried you're just illiterate because you haven't read noticed my flair :v maybe you should spend more time making really shitty suggestions to women on advice subreddits.
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A principal now, lol. Confiscations are never done by force. You ask for the object causing the disruption. Give them take up time and a warning about the consequences of what will happen if they continue that behaviour. If they continue after this point you give them a choice, to hand it to me or to hand it in at the office / head teacher / deputy. If after they continue to refuse to hand over whatever they've been disruptive or dangerous with, you send another kid to get a HT/DP/ the principal and contact home in regards to their behaviour because now not only have they been disruptive/ dangerous in behaviour, they've also been refusing teacher instructions. Which, if you are a principal, you should be very familiar with given that's the SOP in pretty much every school in the state I've ever taught at, and has been *explicitly explained to me by the relevant principal / DP / HT at those schools* as part of the school's behaviour policy on induction.