Winer quoted in 'Republic'

09/11/2007

Winer quoted in 'Republic'
    An article in the Aug. 25 edition of The Arizona Republic about privacy laws that hamstring school districts and prevent officials from commenting about investigations involving students included comments from Professor Laurence Winer.
    Winer, a Faculty Fellow in the Center for the Study of Law, Science, & Technology, told reporter Doug Carroll the public should be grateful that school officials are so guarded. In the article titled, "Privacy laws shroud school-discipline truth," Carroll provided follow-up to an event at Payne Junior High School in Chandler in which an eighth grader was suspended for drawing a gun on an assignment paper.
    "If I were a school parent, I'd want the school to be very reticient and not to be talking to other people or reporters," Winer said. "(Educators) have to take a hit for it, but they can say -- correctly -- that there are aspects they can't amplify."
    Pointing out a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court against a former high school student who was suspended for displaying a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner, Winer said the courts aren't shy about limiting students' free-speech rights.
    "Schools have a pretty good degree of discretion," he told Carroll.
 
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