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School System Considers Jamming Students' Phones

An anonymous reader writes "The St. Ansgar, Iowa school system is considering buying cell-phone jamming equipment for up to $5000 if it is deemed legal. The use of the equipment would be suspended in the case of an emergency, but one has to wonder if they would be quick enough to shut it down should an emergency arise. 'A Federal Communications Commission notice issued in 2005 says the sale and use of transmitters that jam cellular or personal communications services is unlawful.'"

6 of 785 comments (clear)

  1. Nice to know the've got emergencies covered... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    When a girls being raped in the changing rooms? Oh I can't dial 911 as my phones jammed, let me just ask the nearest teacher to go to the principal to find the technician to switch it off.

  2. Re:back in my day by c0y · · Score: 0, Troll

    There were no telephones in my classrooms growing up. There was one in the main office, one in the principal's office obviously, and a few pay phones here and there.

    And back in the day, we also didn't have school shootings. If this were ever legalized, I can see more kids dying as a result of no one except the principal being able to call 911. Any guesses who the shooters will target first in that scenario?

    Story needs a 'thinkofthechildren' tag.

  3. Re:back in my day by ground.zero.612 · · Score: 0, Troll

    Still, this is a simple solution. Kids don't need cell-phones in class.

    Thank you for telling me what my child needs and where. Without people like you, and people like you in the government to create laws, I would certainly never have made it this far in life.

    --
    "Be prepared, son. That's my motto. Be prepared." --Joe Hallenbeck
  4. Re:back in my day by gnick · · Score: 0, Troll

    Yeah, because blocking cell phones blocks all wireless communication. I forgot about that. And of course, since all buildings that caught fire burned to the fucking ground before wireless communication was implementable, any and all buildings with a fire would be burning scrap without a functional cell phone inside.

    Still, despite your dumb-assed oversight that blocking cells would somehow interfere with firefighting, I agree with the notion of taking away cells from students. I stand by my assertion that blocking them passively makes more sense than blocking them actively, but taking them away (and smashing the damned things for a second offense) seems like the best solution.

    --
    He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
  5. Re:back in my day by lgw · · Score: 0, Troll

    A teacher needs to prevent students who want to learn from being distracted by students who don't. That fairly includes telling student to put thier cellphones away if the teacher notices. That doesn't include draconian measures that attempt to force a student to pay attention no matter what. You can lock a studen'ts head in place, and tape his eyelids open, and he'll still daydream if he's bored.

    School is not jail. The fact that a student doesn't need somehting is not a sufficient reason to confiscate that thing.

    --
    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  6. Re:back in my day by dougisfunny · · Score: 0, Troll

    Yes, like a cell phone.

    --
    This is not the funny you're looking for.