Cheerleaders at Pearl High School in Mississippi were required to disclose their login information and passwords to their social networking accounts. No reason was given but the girls thought it was to allow the coaches to check for photos of students drinking and smoking.

Mandi

Fourteen-year-old freshman, Mandi Jackson, said that her coach was an authority figure and so she turned over her password.  The coach found several profanity-laced messages between Mandi and another girl and shared them with other coaches, teachers, the principal and school superintendent.  As a consequence, Mandi was removed from the team and kept from participating in related activities. Mandi was shunned by some of the students and her grades began to slip.

In June, 2009, Mandi and her parents filed a lawsuit against the school district, principal and coaches, claiming a violation of her rights to privacy, free speech, association and due process [meaning she was disciplined without a hearing]. Her messages to her friends were written at home. Mandi commented that “I would have been fine with the school officials looking at my public Facebook, but I think they went too far with getting my password and looking at my personal messages between me and my peers.”

Should Mandi have given out her password? Even if a teacher or coach demands it? Do you think her coach did anything wrong in sharing Mandi’s personal messages with others? Where do you draw the line between respecting a student’s privacy and appropriate discipline for profanity or content? Should there be any discipline for “profanity-laced” discourse?

Assuming Mandi’s privacy was violated by the coach, what would be an appropriate penalty or consequence in this case?

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