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Dear Judy,
I have a question about an incident in my daughter’s school. One of her classmates disposed of my daughter’s home keys and a cell phone in a garbage can. He admitted going through her book bag when she wasn’t around. The school officials had a meeting with his parents, and the boy said he is sorry. Nobody contacted me from the school. I found out what happened myself. I called the assistant principal this morning, and she told me that school is not responsible for lost items, and I can file a police report if I want to be reimbursed by the parents of that boy. Could you please tell me what should I do in this case? Is the school really not responsible for anything? What about safety?
Upset Parent
Dear Upset Parent,
Is the school responsible for the loss? Although there is a process, spelled out in Chancellor’s Regulation A-412, that the school must follow when a student is robbed on or near school property, including writing up an incident report and a range of punishments for the student who is responsible for the theft, there is no mention of the schools’ liability for the items stolen. The Department of Education’s Discipline Code, which you should have a copy of, also has a detailed list of possible infractions and punishments but does not mention a victim’s compensation or a school’s liability. You should also ask for a copy of your school’s specific safety plan to check if it includes any options for recourse.
Even if the school is responsible, going through a legal process will probably take more time and legal fees than the items are worth. You should still, however, file a police report. The police report and the school’s report of the theft, which is called an incident report, are important documentation in case you need to establish the need for a safety transfer.
If the school is not legally responsible for your daughter’s items, it is still responsible for handling the situation properly. They have already failed to notify you and show you the incident report, as the Chancellor’s Regulation requires. Now the principal or guidance counselor should set up a conference with the boy’s parents to discuss how you can be repaid. Depending on the age of the child, there might be an arrangement for him to earn the money, or the parents might agree to reimburse you. If the principal or his designee won’t help arrange this meeting, call the district family advocate and other Department of Education contacts, such as office of School and Youth Development, (718) 935-4357, or the Office of Legal Services, (212) 374-6888
I hope this resolves in a peaceful way.
Judy
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We didn’t give out incident reports due to the student’s name being on it. Let the police be responsible for a parent going ballistic. (Not that the person asking the question would in this case!)
And cell phones are not allowed in most schools. This is one of the reasons. At my high school, we notified parents by phone (usually leaving a message) when there was a physical theft (threat or grabbing or violent), but we left it to the student to inform a parent about something going missing from a bag (loss or theft). I’ll be honest and say that while I was sympathetic to the loss of a cell phone, we didn’t put to much time into any item being stolen that wasn’t supposed to be in school.
Comment by Rebecca — April 21, 2009 @ 7:42 pm
Hi, thank you for your comment. I know that sell phones are not allowed in school but my daughter needs the cell phone just because when she goes home there is nobody there and i need to make sure that she is safe from the bus to an apartment. And just to mention it again the phone was not stolen, the boy went through her bookbag, took her cellphone and the homekeys and disposed them in a garbage bag.
My daughter came home with no keys, no cellphone and sat under the door for 2 hours waiting for me to come home. Thanks God nothing happened to her yet you still trying to tell me that nobody is responsible for that.
Comment by upset parent — April 22, 2009 @ 8:11 am
Thanks Rebecca for the information, now I’ll immediately notify my son and his friends that they’re allowed to steal all their classmates’ cells and nobody will care. Good to know. Hurray!!!
Comment by o-o — April 22, 2009 @ 11:47 am
I was wondering what age these students are? The boy admitted to going through the girl’s bag and throwing her cell phone and keys in the garbage. What was he thinking to purposely dispose of these items? What he took seems calculated, not whimsical. Are they friends? Was it a joke that went wrong? Who exactly received the boy’s apology? Perhaps this should be investigated as a case of harrassment or bullying not as a theft?
The fact that a cell phone is not allowed in school should not be an issue. In my opinion, based only on the information available here, the school should have be more responsible in investigating the incident and less dismissive in managing the situation.
Comment by DI — April 22, 2009 @ 12:26 pm
o-o: It’s reactions and comments like that sarcastic reply that encourage those of us who WANT to give extra time (to give an honest comment or to stay after work hours to help students) not to. Thanks for reinforcing the stereotype of entitled parent.
And if you understand the meaning of sympathetic, you understand the somebody does care. Please read carefully. If you’d prefer to pay more money for more deans and overtime hours to investigate every single stolen item on a campus of over 4000 students, I’ll give you my account number and happily take more time away from my two children to help chase after your son and his friends when they steal their classmates’ cell phones.
Comment by Rebecca — April 22, 2009 @ 2:46 pm
upset parent:
Your concern for your daughter is understandable, and if she notified her guidance counselor or a teacher or an administrator, they surely should have allowed her to use an office phone to call you when the missing cell phone and keys were discovered. I’m shocked that no one assisted her when she went to them.
Comment by Rebecca — April 22, 2009 @ 2:50 pm
Rebecca, are you the principal ? If so, I am truly worried! It is your responsibility to administer the school and ensure the well being of students. I would not be surprised if the student who stole the items engages in a future crime in the school–perhaps something more dangerous/serious. If you feel that administering your school is too difficult , then, perhaps you should step down and allow someone who can do the job properly, the opportunity to do so.
Comment by Elizabeth — April 23, 2009 @ 4:30 pm
Hi again, the age of these kids is 10-11, and the boy is one of the top students in class, and i never received an apology from school officials nor phone call. I was the first who called the school 2 or 3 times and then i got a response from the assistant principle. Somebody commented on the website that my daughter should’ve use office phone, but she didn’t know that the items were stolen until she got home, that’s why she was sitting under the door waiting for me.
Comment by upset parent — April 24, 2009 @ 9:59 am
The ability of those with an agenda to read selectively never ceases to amaze.
Elizabeth makes a huge jump to rant about an issue that does not exist. Thanks for the promotion. I wonder how you expect the school officials to respond to a situation (since the parent’s main concern seems to be her daughter’s safety) when it is not discovered until she is out of school?
This entire thread had a misunderstanding to begin with. There was an assumption of threat and loss of safety. What has now come to light (due to clarification by the parent) is that it was NOT theft, and the child did NOT know the items were missing until she got home. How is the school responsible for her safety when the child didn’t even know until she was out of the building? The parent’s legitimate complaint seems to be that she was not notified AFTER the event was discovered. And she clearly wants an apology.
And to the upset parent, as Judy explained:
“Now the principal or guidance counselor should set up a conference with the boy’s parents to discuss how you can be repaid. Depending on the age of the child, there might be an arrangement for him to earn the money, or the parents might agree to reimburse you. If the principal or his designee won’t help arrange this meeting, call the district family advocate and other Department of Education contacts, such as office of School and Youth Development, (718) 935-4357, or the Office of Legal Services, (212) 374-6888.”
The parent coordinator is another option.
Comment by Rebecca — April 24, 2009 @ 2:54 pm
I am somewhat baffled by Rebecca’s response. What am I missing here? A 10 - 11 year old student admits to rifling through another child’s bookbag when she wasn’t around, taking her phone and keys, and deliberately destroying them. This violation of the child’s privacy, and the theft, and possibly the destruction of her property, all occurred in school. Leaving aside the question of financial reimbursement, it seems clear to me that waiting for a situation like this to become “violent” or physical before “putting time into it” is a recipe for disaster. I feel strongly that Upset parent is correct that the school needs to take immediate steps to ensure the safety of her child (and other children), and their property, in school — such as suspending the thief, and/or separating the children.
Comment by Baffled — April 24, 2009 @ 5:19 pm
I think Rebecca’s original comment was very clear. She is NOT saying that the school administration does not care. She IS saying that in large, understaffed schools (i.e. majority of NYC public schools), situations are prioritized and resources are doled out as seems appropriate. That makes sense. Suppose the phone was simply lost, not stolen?
My 10y.o. son has begged and pleaded to take his nintendo ds to school despite clear understanding that it is not allowed. If he happens to sneak it into has bag and to school and it gets stolen from his bag, that’s on him (or me if I should allow him to take it). I would appreciate notice from the school if they know who took it and are planning an intervention. Otherwise, there is no expectation that they take responsibility in any way.
Comment by Bronx mom — April 25, 2009 @ 10:55 am
Hi Bronx mom, i don’t know why do you put so much stress on the phone, what about the keys? and again, it was not stolen but taken purposely and disposed into the trash.
Anyway, I just want to say to Judy, that family advocate told me that police report wouldn’t help in this situation and that she will contact the school officials for me, never heard from her ever since. I called her office and left few messages, no response.
Parent coordinator told me that she will try to speak to the boys parents and will get back to me, hopefully.
Thank you all
Comment by upset parent — May 5, 2009 @ 6:51 pm