Sara Sims' nine-year-old daughter has been getting bullied at Ocean View Elementary School in Norfolk, VA. Sims has called and emailed the school administration multiple times with no response. In fact, she has still had no response, and she started trying again in September.
In order to provide evidence, she put a recorder into her daughter's backpack. She hoped to prove, both that the child was being bullied, and that nothing was being done by the staff to put a stop to it.
What happened was that the recorder was discovered by the school, the child was moved to a different classroom, and a month later Sims was charged by the Norfolk Police with a felony and a misdemeanor.
Sims was charged with felony use of device to intercept oral communication and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The felony charge could carry five years in prison.
Authorities claim that "electronic devices are not allowed in the classroom." However, what if there are computers in that classroom? And what exactly constitutes an "electronic device"? Besides, Sims has every right to collect evidence of bullying directed at her daughter.
Instead of harassing Sims with criminal charges, the school needs to look into her claims that other students are bullying her daughter.
