More than 300 Beach students suspended for using cell phones

Okay for all you parents, or people who say get your nose into your kids business, wrong. Your kids will learn to hid what they do from you more. You may say not my kid, but yes. Your Kid. And suspending that many kids from school is outrageous. They should be in there learning, so what if they text a little in class, it shouldn't bother the teachers, its not their life their ruining its there own. If there not taking school serious then let them learn the hard way when there grades have slipped and they can't get into that college or university they want to go to. But suspending that large amount is totally stupid, I can't believe a school would do that. Wow, goes to show you how crazy people are.

Absolutely,students should not use cell phones during class time.However,last year my middle schooler's bus was diverted to Rock Church for over an hour-her school was already in lockdown.She asked if she could call me when she got to school and was told "No".I knew nothing of this situation until she called me when she got home.The following school day I dropped off my high schooler and the school was already in lockdown.If she had a cell phone she could have called me-I would have gone back to get her.Instead,she walked home-which could have turned out to be a tragedy had there been a shooter.Both situations occurred shortly after the VT massacre.Having cell phones versus using them for certain circumstances,is a totally different thing.

It isn't the kids she has problems with it's the parents. They don't stick they nose in when they should, but they sure as hell stick their nose in when they shouldn't. I will say and continue to say parents of today do not know how to be parents. You are not you child's friend you are supposed to be their teacher, and role model. Lessons learned at home will carry with them for the rest of their life, and you need to act like and be a parent.

My question is, as a child care provider for a younger sibling would you call another minor child? what did you expect Kayla to do, sit in school where she is supoosed to be getting and education and make phone calls on the day cares behalf? Kayla is nothing more than a child herself, where is the responsible party in this? Obviously not the parents nor the day care taking care of the other sibling.

I think school is for learning and phones are for jabbering. When I was growing up, if parents had urgent business, they called the office and the student was pulled from class. Its a weak excuse for parents to say they need to reach their kids. The learning process needs to be insulated from distraction, especially overbearing parents who don't really know much or manage their affairs well. Thus their kids can advance the generation. Mobile phones are luxury items, not necessities. Class standing has very little to do with success. Most of the lessons learned in school have to do with getting along with others, learning self reliance, discipline & respecting rules. Parents, grow up & quit bothering your kids learning process.

As a principal, I could not tell you enough about the injustice parents are doing to their children. Since parents have very little respect for the rules, it is being passed down to the children. It's a simple rule, turn the phone off and put it away. What makes this story more scary is the quickness in which the mother is going to resort to litigation. There is nothing unconstitutional or unfair about a simple rule in which her daughter broke. I agree there are more serious infractions schools should be concerned with, but it starts small. I have to question the mother's competency as a parent when the day care has to resort to contacting an underage minor to get care for his or her sibling. The mother has to have a cell phone also.

cell phone on vibrate or turn it off..simple as that....everyone has a cell phone if there is a school emergency someone will have a way to call 911. I feel sorry for teachers today, kids aren't raised anymore.

And what was Kayla supposed to do? Leave school, drive to daycare and pick up her younger sibling? Who would give permission for her to leave campus? Does she have a car? Does she even have a license? Could she take her sibling from the daycare provider? What is the sense in calling a sophomore? I thought contact numbers were numbers that were available to call during the time the child was in daycare. But then, silly me. I follow rules.

It sounds to me as if the school administrators have once again attached more weight and importance to themselves....Nice to see that nothing has changed in Virginia Beach Public Schools..........

John W, college apps might ask if your son was ever suspended. And if he lies, the Guidance Counselor might have to answer questions about suspension, also. Better check on that policy before he applies to colleges. VBCPS maintains something called a "Discipline Tracking Record." I don't know if it's just OSS or ISS, also. You might want to check on that with the euphemistically-named "Office of Student Leadership."

It doesn't matter who is trying to get a hold of her. She should have obeyed the rules and kept her cell phone off. And as such, there should be consequences.. If there is a family issue, the office could have been called and the message relayed to her.

I couldn't help but notice that more than a few writers felt it necessary to brag about their kids' class standing, when discussing the use of cell phones. One has nothing to do with the other. Good grades are a function of practical application, more than an indication of high intelligence. If these kids were really smart, they wouldn't have broken the rules. Parents....please....support your schools, and your teachers.....don't call the kids during school hours on their cell phones. Tell them that if they turn those cell phones on during school hours, that you will back up whatever punishment is meted out by the schools. Past generations thrived in school without cellphones....don't drink the Kool-Aid. Be strong. Be a parent.

I'm the person that called Kayla on her cell phone. I'm a child care provider and I care for Kayla's younger sister. The child became ill in daycare. I called all my contact numbers with no luck. Lastly I called Kayla. I had no idea that this action would have caused her so much trouble. I called the school and spoke to them but they stated "that was their policy".

I believe the school should have been more understanding.

In today's fast paced world things are not always black and white.

So before judging Kayla for her "cell phone" Please understand that this was not her fault, and the school should have understood that.

When you cut in line, you made a conscious decision to break a rule and do something immoral. I'm sure the kids who were in line behind you were hungry and they chose to wait their turn. I think it's great that you got ISS for that. When I was in school, you had to either accept it or fight if a kid cut you in the lunch line. ISS makes good sense for that type of rude, antagonistic behavior. This kid forgot to turn off her phone and it rang because an emergency call didn't get through to her mother so they tried her. Some of you people have real issues with reality. If it was your child, you'd feel differently. This would especially be the case if your child was the gifted, honor roll student who never cut ANYONE in the lunch line.

The problem is not the policy. Its the automatic penalty.

My 3.8 GPA, class-president son's phone accidentally fell out of his pocket (teacher agrees it was accidental) He is now suspended, can never run for class office again, cannot play in his JV football game and his GPA will be ruined if teachers choose to give him zeros during suspended days.

Display of cell phone is the only infraction that carries automatic suspension in the VB student handbook. Fighting, cheating, skipping school, et al do not carry auto-suspension.

The punishment does not fit the crime, and the school is not allowed to consider the circumstance.

If the same circumstances were applied to your next traffic ticket, you would not think it fair.

We are not suing the school system and we are not trying to get Kayla out of trouble. We are trying to get the schools policy looked at and adjusted. Kayla was punished according to the current policy, I don't have a problem with that. Should the student whose phone was accidentally displayed be punished the same as someone who was abusing their phone in class? I don't agree with students having phones in class, but in today's world I believe they need them for family maters after school. I am for a cell phone policy in school just the current policy is ridiculous. Instead of Kayla spending her time in class she spent most of her time in ISS listening to Radio and watching TV, some kids find ISS fun. I wonder why?

I think that the rules for cell phone violations are a bit extreme. A day of ISS for a first-time offense is quite extreme. Whatever happened to levels of discipline? Why should we stick students in In-School-Suspension for a momentary, unintentional disruption? Why not leave ISS for bad students who are constant rule-breakers?

No cell phones in school. I am sure that this was made clear to all students on the first day of school. Keep suspending these kids if they are too stupid to turn a cell phone off. And Lady you should be taking care of why your daughter had her cell phone on during school, not legal action against the school.

For a number of years high school students have been permitted to possess, display, or use cell phones before or after the instructional day. This privilege will still remain in effect, but there is a need to minimize their disruption in school. In 2006 2,631 cell phone infractions were reported. The number rose to 3,013 in 2007. Besides the disruption it takes a teacher 30 to 45 minutes to confiscate the phone, write a referral, and bring the phone to the office.

Thus, starting this school year it was necessary to implement the below policy:
1st Offense - Level 4 ISS
2nd Offense - Level 5 OSS (1-5 days)
3rd Offense - Level 6 OSS (6-10 days)
4th Offense - Level 7 (Long-Term Suspension)

L. Remias,
Member VB School Board

Many people do not understand that the cell phones are routinely used to cheat. Students photograph tests or text message test answers to other students. The phones are also used after teachers are intentionally provoked to make video recordings designed to make the teacher look unprofessional or out of control. The recordings are then posted on youtube or myspace. Cell phones must be prohibited.

I saw where Connie mentioned cell phones in meetings after it was stated they were to be off. If the rules said "Before you come into this meeting turn your cell phone off or you will be fired immediately for failure to comply", then where's the argument? You're in the military. Then you should understand that, when so many military installations now have rules that say you can't drive and use a cell without having a hands free unit, or MPs will pull you over and cite you, that it's the basis of the rule. I can't tell an MP "Oh, yea, sorry about that. I forgot about that sign" and expect them to let me off. Why should our schools give such leeway? (And I got ISS for cutting line at lunch in middle school. Let's compare which is ludicrous.)

is this lady for real? what is wrong with people nowadays? can't anyone understand that there are rules, and the rules need to be followed? and yes, my two teenagers have cell phones, but they know that they aren't allowed in school. if it were my daughter that got the in-house suspension, i think i would be upset with her. this lady is in for loads of trouble with her daughter is this is typical of how she handles situations with her.

Give it up lady and teach your child how to be a responsible citizen and follow the laws of the land. People and their damn cell phones are among the most rude bunch you will ever meet. If the kids get caught a second time kick their butts out for a month. If they need to use a phone go to the office or install pay phones in schools outside the office door. Your kid does not need a cell phone at school and in case you don't know it it's against the law for children to drive with a cell phone at their mouth. I wish that was true of adults also.

"ISS" stands for in-school suspension. The student is not missing out on their education for the day. They will still get their assignments and homework. All that is missing is the social interaction with other students. Seems like a small price to pay for not following the rules.

School punishment: Strict enough discipline for a serious issue. Put on vibrate or silent.
Legal action: If it goes, judge should toss it out for wasting his/her time.
Cell phones in school: Unneccessary during hours but what'll be the big deal?

Why is suing someone the first thing that comes to mind when something happens now? The mother isn't reprimanding her child for having a cell phone on in class, she's trying to find a way to excuse her daughter! Give me a break! Granted it's not a huge deal, the cell phone went off in class, but there are rules. You break the rules you deal with the consequences. The mother needs to back off and let the school system enforce the rules that are set. And yes, I do remember when we couldn't have pagers and got in trouble for even having a walkman in school! But ya know what, when we broke the rules, we were actually scared of the discipline from our parents because they stood by the rules that were created for us. Rules are rules.

I remember getting punished for carrying a pager in class. Anyone remember those? Cell phones were only for the very few in my class of 98' at KHS. I can tell you this. Mom isn't doing her daughter any favors by suing the school system. Some teachers are harsher than others yes, but who is to say mommy's little darling is telling the truth that this is the first time her phone has gone off in class. The truth is, you can't sue a cop because he doesn't issue every person he pulls over for speeding a speeding ticket. Sometimes there are variances in policies. So therefore you shouldn't be able to sue a teacher because the child got a day ISS for breaking the rules. Time for kids to learn there are consequences for breaking the rules and laws.

The whole story is about kids don't follow the rules at school and then a parent wants to sue the school for her child getting an ISS for doing what they were told not to do. They didn't say you couldn't have a phone with them at school. it says that you can't have it on. I am a graduate student here at ODU and it kills me to see everyone walk out of a classroom and the first thing they do is get on the phone. What happened when wer were in school you actually saw the person and had interaction with them. now it's all about texting. when we were in school also we used this ancient thing called the pay-phone to get a ride home. Better yet, prior planning is a great thing....

I am all for kids having cell phones. My teen has one and i expect her to have it with her all the time. However, when at school, I expect it to be off and stay off. Those are the rules.

Children and adults over 18 without a high school diploma do not need to bring cell phones to school. When we were in school, cell phones were not even invented yet. If there was an emergency or family problem, we had to use the phone in the office or use the pay phone in high school. Parents who think their children have the right to bring their cell phones to school do not trust the school staff's professionalism! If an emergency comes up, the teacher can call parents. Students use cell phones to call their friends during instructional time and cheat.