Wilson school board votes to allow schools to search students' cell phones

The new student search policy allows officials to look through the phone, including text messages and pictures, of any student suspected of breaking the law or school rules.

"It’s just a terrible idea. It’s privacy, it’s a breach of privacy," parent Jayme Daniels told WRAL News at the time. "I have a daughter who will be 15 here soon, and I don’t want her phone in anyone’s hands that I don’t know looking at pictures of her and her friends."

School board member Rhyan Breen, an attorney, echoed those concerns during Monday's board meeting.

Breen tried to limit the policy, proposing that the phones be searched only in cases of a clear and present threat of violence against students or staff.

Superintendent Lane Mills balked at that idea, saying he doesn’t want to restrict school leaders from acting in a potentially dangerous situation.

"I do have concerns, as an administrator, that we’ve seen some increasing violence across our country," Mills told the board. "I don’t think it’s fair to ask us to do some of the things we do on a daily basis without access to these devices when folks are bringing them into our buildings."

Students have brought guns to schools across North Carolina in recent weeks:

The Wilson County school board voted 5-2 in favor of a broader search policy.

The North Carolina School Boards Association didn't respond Wednesday to WRAL's request for comment.

Wake County Public School System policy already allows searches of student phones, as well as laptop computers and other digital devices. Spokeswoman Lisa Luten said such searches are allowed by state law, but administrators try to limit them as much as possible.

For example, she said, if an administrator suspects a student has been arranging drug deals by text, officials could search that student’s messages but not their pictures.

"The potential for abuse or misuse of any policy is always possible," Breen said Wednesday regarding the Wilson County Schools policy. "It was my hope that more narrowly tailored language would prevent that. However, I am hopeful that our administrators will be able to utilize the policy responsibly, and searches, on the rare occasion they occur, will be minimally intrusive."