I had heard recently on NPR, that a HS principal had asked a student to come to his office after suspecting him of smoking cigarettes on school property. After not finding anything on the student, their locker or backpack, the principal seized the student's cell phone, and began searching their private messages, in hopes of finding some promising evidence. The principal finds messages discussing smoking pot with other students. The principal then begins calling down other students who where connected to the messages.

In 10th grade (about three years ago), my high school's principal had put in a new rule that a student's cell phone was to be confiscated upon sight of a teacher. He had called each class to go over this rule in detail so that we understood what it meant. At the end of the lecture, I asked whether or not the student reserved the right to keep their cell phone's battery and any additional cards tied to personal data on the phone. He was puzzled a bit, as were a few students. He eventually said no, because he didn't want to complicate what was otherwise a strait forward rule, with good intentions (preventing students from distracting class, or using the phones to cheat).

I ask, if the school has access to your car while it's on school property, arguing that your phone is no different is not too far away logically speaking. But where is the line? Assuming the schools have access to your car implies you must surrender for the duration of the search, your car keys. Let's assume that schools have the right to search your phone, but you feel as though you're safe as long as access to private text messages and so on is password protected. However, given that the school has the right to search your car on school property, implying that you must forfeit your keys, doesn't it imply as well that you must fork over your password?

Cell phones are becoming more powerful every year, and people are able to check their email through their phones. It doesn't take long to imply that if the school should have the right to search your cell phone, and obtain whatever passwords necessary to do so, that email accounts (and quite possibly any other digital accounts accessed through your cell phone or school computers) used through your phone are no different.

I'm not arguing there's an abuse of power being executed by most schools today. Its the possibility, even in one or two incidents, that worries me.