Student Blogger Update

In a previous post I wrote about Libertyville High School Distirct 128 warning student bloggers they could face penalties depending on what they wrote. The board voted last night and passed the measure. The students and parenets in the district can only hope all the questions I and others have asked about this were resolved. If the board is acting out of emotion this ruling will cause more problems than it solves in the coming years.


          

The Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 board unanimously approved the policy by updating the codes of conduct for students in athletic, fine arts and extracurricular programs. The rules are effective starting in the 2006-07 term.

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“We’re entrusted to keep our kids safe, and it’s another way to do it,” board President Anne Landgraf said.
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District rules already prohibited students from exhibiting behavior considered detrimental to a team or the school, such as fighting, vandalism and hazing. The new rules say students could be suspended from a sports team or activity for “maintaining or being identified on a blog site (that) depicts illegal or inappropriate behavior.”
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Courts have given schools power to discipline students involved in extracurricular activities for off-campus behavior because such students are representatives of the school, said Ed Yohnka, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.
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Only one audience member, Mary Greenberg of Lake Bluff, spoke about the proposal, and she opposed it. She said parents, not the schools, should patrol kids’ blogging.

Both student representatives to the school board spoke in favor of the regulations.

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One Response to “Student Blogger Update”

  1. Education Matters US » Rockford School Board MySpace Scandal, on May 28th, 2006 at 9:08 am Said:

    [...] There is a breaking story concerning the Rockford School Board President, Nancy Kalchbrenner. At the school board meeting this week WTVO.com reported that Rockford Schools are looking into doing something similar to what Libertyville/Vernon Hills has done in response to Blog posting. Excerpts below: [...]

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