School Confiscated Cell Phone, Requires Fee for Return

**ravenmad** · 08-22-2011, 05:43 PM

My question involves education law in the State of: Arizona

I'm the parent of a student who attends a charter school in Arizona. The school sent home a letter stating that to get a confiscated cell phone back I will be charge a fee of $20. I think this is wrong, and seems like theft of my property as I am the owner of the phone not my child.

They refuse to return the phone with out the $20 dollar fee, should I file small claims/unlawful detainer or what?

The school does not have a policy against having a phone, only against using it. They say the phone can't be used on school property ever, this apparently includes after school, which is when the phone was taken, when my son was checking to see if I had left to pick him up or his mother so he would know which car to look out for.

**flyingron** · 08-23-2011, 03:43 AM

You knew the rules, you chose to ignore them. You mgiht go to court to get the return of the phone but you'd also still owe the $20 and the costs of the case.

**cbg** · 08-23-2011, 07:24 AM

This is not theft. If it's your shelling out the $20 that concerns you, make your kid pay it. After all, he's the one that broke the rules.

**ravenmad** · 08-23-2011, 06:01 PM

Fryingron, CGB, It was not a matter of choosing to ignore rules, there was a valid safety concern. The school also does not allow students that are being picked up to leave the school property. Making my kid pay for something where no wrong was done would be stupid, plus it would just be coming out of my pocket anyway.

**flyingron** · 08-24-2011, 06:33 AM

Your interpretation of a valid safety concern doesn't trump the schools determination of what they need to have for school to be safe and effective.
It is only in your own mind that the rule doesn't need to apply to your child. Your child broke the rule. If you want to instill upon him that he did nothing wrong, pay the $20 and buy him an ice cream cone. I guess that's how you were brought up.

**Bubba Jimmy** · 08-24-2011, 02:30 PM

Was this policy communicated to you in advance, say in a school handbook? Whether you saw it or not is not the question, but if it was not a stated policy then they have no right to keep your property. Regardless of how flyingron thinks you were brought up,.