Virginia Attorney General Says Teachers Can Take Students' Cell Phones, Read TextsPublished November 25, 2010 | FoxNews.com
Students in Virginia may want to think twice about texting in class.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a Republican, issued a legal opinion Wednesday ruling that not only can school officials seize students' cell phones and laptops, but they can also read their text messages if there is "reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search will turn up evidence that the student has violated or is violating either the law or the rules of the school."
Cuccinelli was responding to a request from Republican Delegate Robert Bell who wanted to know when principals or teachers can seize the devices to battle cyberbullying and how school officials can address "sexting," or sexual messages sent via text, without violating the state law themselves.
Cuccinelli said school officials should not share explicit materials "depicting minors with other school personnel, but rather that the material should be brought to the attention of the appropriate law enforcement agents."
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