Rob
Sherman Advocacy
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Rob
Sherman Advocacy
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"Fighting injustice, one victory at a time."
The 2002-2003 school year is still more than a month away, but a dispute has already arisen regarding my daughter's participation in an academic program at her public school. The school district requires that all students sign an agreement as a condition for participation in internet use training at school. One clause of the agreement requires the student to authorize the school district to take legal action against her if the school district doesn't like what she does with respect to internet usage. The next clause of the agreement, however, requires the student to guarantee that she won't take legal action against the school district if she doesn't like what the school district does with respect to internet usage. In other words, public school students are being required to sign an agreement stating that the government can take them to court, but they can't take the government to court, as a condition for participation in an educational program operated by the government.
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Community Consolidated School District 21 is located about twenty-five miles northwest of downtown Chicago in Wheeling Township, Cook County, Illinois. District 21 schools provide kindergarten through eighth grade education to students living in parts of the villages of Buffalo Grove, Wheeling, Arlington Heights, Northbrook and Mount Prospect and part of the City of Prospect Heights.
One of the programs of instruction at District 21 schools involves teaching students how to use the internet, which is a good thing. However, District 21 requires students to sign the student portion of the "District 21 Internet Use Agreement" as a condition for taking instruction on internet usage. In addition, parents of students are required to sign the parent portion of the agreement.
The student portion of the agreement states the following:
Name: ______________ Grade ________ School/Team _________
I understand and will abide by the above authorization for Internet access. I further understand that should I commit any violation, my privileges may be revoked, and school disciplinary action and/or appropriate legal action may be taken. In consideration for using the District's Internet connection and having access to public networks, I hereby release District 21 and its Board members, employees, and agents from any claims and damages arising from my use, or inability to use the Internet.
Signature: _________________ Date: _____________
With respect to that last sentence, what is the government doing trying to coerce little kids into signing away their rights in a contract? Since when do little kids have the maturity to give informed consent about such matters?
With respect to the middle sentence, I thought that the job of public elementary schools was to take little kids who don't know how to do things and teach them the right answers, rather than prosecuting them for having the wrong answers.
When I went to school back in the 1960's, if a student got the wrong answer, he flunked. In District 21 in the 2000's, if a student gets the wrong answer, he gets sent to jail! I thought the job of the public schools was to teach kids the right answers, not prosecute them for coming up with the wrong answers!
A principal purpose of the constitutions of the United States and of the State of Illinois is guaranteeing citizens certain civil rights when dealing with the government. One of the great problems around here is that local government is persistently looking for ways to cancel, nullify, neutralize or scam you out of your constitutionally-guaranteed civil rights. One scam that they use is to threaten you with exclusion from government programs if you refuse to be coerced into waiving your constitutionally-guaranteed civil rights.
Article One (Bill of Rights), Section Twelve (Right to Remedy and Justice) of the Illinois Constitution guarantees citizens the right to "obtain justice by law, freely, completely and promptly." The last sentence of the student's portion of the District 21 Internet Use Agreement requires students to waive that constitutionally-guaranteed right: "I hereby release District 21 ... from any claims ..." My kid is not going to sign away her rights under Article One, Section Twelve, but she will participate in internet use training at School District 21.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article One (Bill of Rights), Section Two (Due Process and Equal Protection) of the Illinois Constitution guarantees citizens equal protection under the law. The second sentence of the Internet Use Agreement authorizes the government to take legal action against my kid, while the last sentence of the Agreement precludes my kid from taking legal action against the government. At Rob Sherman Advocacy, it doesn't work that way. If they reserve the right to take legal action against my kid, then my kid reserves the right to take legal action against them. If they want my kid to agree to not go to court against them, then they will have to agree to not go to court against my kid.
There is also a problem with the parental portion of the Internet Use Agreement. One clause of that part of the agreement states:
I accept full responsibility for supervision if and when my child's Internet use is not in a school setting.
It is none of the government's business as to which of my kid's activities I choose to supervise when my kid is "not in a school setting." The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article One (Bill of Rights), Section Six (Searches, Seizures, Privacy and Interceptions) of the Illinois Constitution guarantees citizens the right to privacy from the government with respect to lawful activity. I don't have to promise them anything with respect to which of my kid's activities that I will supervise when my kid is not in a school setting, so I'm not going to sign that one, but my daughter will still participate in internet use training at School District 21, just the same, without my signature on that demand.
I have requested a meeting with District 21 Superintendent Gary Mical and with Technology Director Larry Cline, who runs District 21's internet system and is responsible for the internet usage training program, to challenge the wording of the District 21 Internet Use Agreement. Dr. Mical became District 21's superintendent on July 1st, so he's only been on the job for three weeks. Welcome to District 21, Gary!
Mr. Cline has agreed to meet with me at a specific date and time, later this week. Dr. Mical has agreed to meet with me on the same day, a little bit after my meeting with Mr. Cline.
Dr. Mical and Mr. Cline are very nice and I have a pleasant relationship with both of them, so I expect that a solution can be derived that will meet the goals of all parties, but I will be firm in insisting that the solution not violate the rights of any party.
My daughter and I are not going to waive any of our rights as a condition for her participation in internet usage training.
Furthermore, my daughter is not going to authorize the school to prosecute her if they don't like what she does on the internet while "in the school setting." It's their job to adequately supervise her, while she is in the school setting, to ensure that she doesn't do anything that merits prosecution, rather than to prosecute her for their failure to provide such adequate supervision.
To the contrary, if my daughter does something improper on the internet while in the school setting as a result of their failure to supervisor her, it is I who will prosecute them for negligence, rather than them prosecuting my daughter for their negligent supervision.
This controversy demonstrates, once again, two of the most important principles a citizen should abide by when dealing with local government: Be obstreperous, and never sign waivers which the government gives you. If government was doing it's job properly and safely, there would not be a need for you to ever sign a waiver exempting government from liability for their failure to do their job properly and safely. All a government waiver is about is saying that, if government fails to do it's job properly and safely, you agree, in advance, to not hold them accountable or to do anything about it. That's BS. Don't fall for that stuff or be coerced into going along with that.
My daughter and I aren't going to worry about them suing her for their failure to properly supervise her internet usage while "in the school setting." Let them worry about one of us suing them if my daughter makes improper usage of the internet, due to their negligent failure to provide her with adequate supervision while she is in the school setting! It's their job, not the job of a nine-year-old kid, to ensure her proper internet conduct while she is in their custody and control.
They had better provide adequate supervision to my daughter while she is in their custody and control or I will sue them, not the other way around.
Rob Sherman P. O. Box
7410
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089-7410
A post office box is used
because
the street address uses a curb mail box,
which is not secure.
Telephone: (847) 870-0700
Fax: (847) 870-1156
E-mail: rob followed by the at symbol followed by robsherman dot com