Parent Advocates For Safer Phone Policy After Daughter's Scary Walk Home

by Davy

In a recent post on Reddit, a parent shared a concerning situation involving their daughter's school's new phone policy. The parent's 17-year-old daughter had her phone confiscated for four days without being informed about the change.

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This led to her having to walk home alone in the dark due to the lack of bus fare on her phone. The parent was shocked by this policy and immediately took action by contacting the school to address the issue.

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After a discussion with the school's head, a resolution was reached where the daughter would get her phone back after school to ensure her safety. The post sparked a heated discussion in the comments section, with many users expressing their support for the parent's actions.

Some highlighted the potential safety risks posed by the school's policy, while others questioned the legality and fairness of keeping a student's phone for an extended period. The debate also touched on the husband's reaction to the situation and societal expectations regarding parental involvement in school policies.

Overall, the post raised important questions about student safety, school policies, and parental rights in education.

Original Post

Before you all jump to calling me a Karen, let me explain. So my daughter (17f- Clem) goes to a school that has recently changed it's policy on phones.
Instead of getting it back at the end of the day, the school keeps it for 4 days (not including weekends or holidays) and then a guardian has to come collect it after school. We were not made aware of this of new policy.
We live a good hour and a half away from school. Well, on Thursday my daughter came home late and said she had to walk home because the school had taken her phone (bus tickets are on their phones) and buses aren't taking money to avoid contact.

I asked her what happened and she said she was checking her texts in the toilets when a female teacher came in and confiscated it because she was in a 'no phone area'. That same night I contacted her school and set up a meeting with the head.
He told me the school realised taking phones for the day wasn't a big enough deterrent so now they take them for 4 days. I was floored, my daughter had to walk home, in the dark and cold because the school held her phone overnight.
I told them what my daughter had told me and they confirmed that's what happened. I told them that I have no issue with them taking the phone for 4 days at school, but they need to give her phone back to her after school so she can get home safely.

After a bit of debating, they finally agreed. When I told my husband, he rolled his eyes at me and called a 'Karen'.
He told me that Clem should walk home as punishment, despite the high crime rate in our area. AITA?
EDIT TO CLARIFY SOME THINGS: 1. Clem did tell the school about her ticket on her phone and went to the main office for the £1.20 bus fair as a last resort, but the school wouldn't give it to her, and buses aren't taking cash as of recent.

2. Neither the students or parents were made aware of this rule at the start of the school year.
Many kids just assumed rules were the same as last year. 3.
I don't get home until 5:30ish but my phone is always on in case of emergencies. My other two children did not let me know about Clem not being back until after I got home which is when I called the police.

She got home at around 6:15pm. I was told by police to stay home with my kids.
4. My husband has since apologised for his stupid statement.
If anything else needs clearing up, I'll add another edit. 5) We're not changing schools because she's doing her a levels and only has around 7 months of school left.

It'll cause more hassle then it's worth. 6) No, Clem could not get a taxi.
We don't have taxis where we live, only ubers which you need to order on your phone. Also, don't waste your breath of u/VisiblePiano0 .
They seem like a massive shitposter on a power trip. Also, the reason why I'm not actually punishing Clem is because she was in a toilet cubicle when a (female) teacher came in and looked through the gap.

She claimed that she was looking for a younger student who was at risk to themselves and others and saw Clem in the cubicle on her phone (don't worry, Clem wasn't using the toilet, but it's still creepy). This is a ss of a pdf containing the info on the [phone policy](https://imgur.com/gallery/d5n8a3B).
We got this last night. Had to cut out the first page as it had private info on it.
And although it said 2 days in the letter, it would have been 4 days because of the weekend.