Scanner in High School

[ab3a]

All the advice you see above is good.

Allow me to add some general advice about scanners: try not to share explicit information you capture from the scanner with others. Speak in general terms. Unless there is an immediate need to hear what is on the scanner (beyond just amusement) DO NOT SHARE. Don't even let people know you have it.

This advice applies both in and out of school, and even in very public places. Like many technical endeavors, people who do not understand this stuff are scared and will make every attempt to keep you from doing anything that might upset their small minded world. This particularly includes cops, teachers, and even your fellow classmates.

Finally, if you do not have a ham radio license, I suggest getting one. The feds have asked states that craft scanner use laws to carve out exemptions for ham radio licensees. So far, I am not aware of any state that has failed to do so. The latter is so that if you are "discovered" that you have an alibi or something to confuse or confound a police officer --or at least get your equipment back.

I need to warn you: the public, particularly police officers, do not like the fact that you can be walking around out there listening to their radio. They would like to think that their radio conversations are sacrosanct. We all know that this is nonsense, but it is wise to humor them. No emperor likes to be reminded of that nudity issue.

[Jimru]

As has been suggested in so many words: BE DISCRETE!!

Even if you were to get a ham license (and I hope you do, it's a great hobby!), and your state laws provide exemptions for owning/using a scanner where other citizens do not; this still means that you should always listen discretely, using earbuds in public places, and not bragging about it.

Using common sense is always a good idea, so is posting questions here in Radio Ref if you have doubts, we are all eager to help each other out, especially newcomers to the monitoring hobby.

[doctordialtone]

Originally Posted by ab3a

All the advice you see above is good.
No emperor likes to be reminded of that nudity issue.

OK OK. There was that ONE time I had to run out to the wood pile in a blizzard. Clothing was not convenient at the time and the fire was going out. It was only a Misdemeanor. What can I say?

I remember a time in the 80's when I was pulled over by the local Constable on my way into VT. He pulled me over in the driving snow for going too fast. When he returned with my license and ticket, he asked me what I was listening to. I said, "Everything".

He bragged, "Yeah, but you can't listen to us." I said, "You mean on 39.42 or 39.46?" Silence. I shared a bunch of other frequencies that I had and he didn't. He got out his pad and started writing. By the time we were done, he asked me to hand back the ticket and he changed it to a written warning. Then he handed me a business card, and asked me to call him if I had any other stuff he might be interested in. I pulled away, slowly. I have that ticket to this day.

The moral of the story; Cops and Principals are people too. This could have gone very differently, however. I'd suggest you don't flaunt your access to sensitive information. There's no reason to do that. Now do your homework!

Yeah, I was the kid with the transistor radio in my pocket and earphone run up my sleeve, listening to the World Series in school, knowingly.

[KB1UAM]

Shouldn't you be studying and doing homework anyway? isn't there a big test on Thursday?

[gewecke]

Doc dialtone's story was a lot like mine in high school, cept I was the kid in math taking a test with the earphone under my long hair while listening to Alice Cooper or Talking Heads!
Fyi, I passed my tests that way too!

73,
n9zas

[redneckcellphone]

it been almost 7 years since i was in high school and ipods, and cellphone were not allowed to be used at school. and im sure if i had brought a 2 way radio or scanner in your case to school unless hidden it would be confiscated for sure

[Eireguy]

It sucks, but yes he can tell you to not bring it.there's nothing illegal about radio reception.but the school can tell you what devices you are allowed to bring on property.having said that, don't let it get you down.there's plenty of hours in a day to listen.keep @ it

[W8RMH]

My advice to you is leave the scanner at home and concentrate on your school work first. The scanner is for after school.

[MisterK33]

I am a high school teacher that discretely monitors school/municipal frequencies where I work as a pastime while I prep for my classes. My strongest advice is to not advertise that you have a scanner on you whatsoever while you are in school. If your school has rules regarding MP3 players, earbuds, phones, etc, chances are that the admin of your school will use one of those rules to take your radio. Especially in light of recent incidences of school shootings, admins are likely to come down pretty hard on you, and may consider it a safety risk.

Keep it out of sight, and out of mind. Be respectful, and don't force the issue; it has the potential to blow up into something big that you don't want following you around for the rest of your high school career.

[puterman]

As someone that carries a UHF radio around a high school, most of the talk is very boring.
If this happened at my school, they would take it up under the "personal electronics" rule. You can not have these devices out at school. If you do, they get taken up and your parents called to pick it up.

[Jimru]

I'm thinking that best advice given so far (if indeed the OP is still reading these) is to just leave it at home!

[Fuzy_GSXR1000]

I agree leave the hardware at home study hard and do the hobby stuff at home.

[kg4ivt]

I carried a scanner all through high school and swapped it for a dualband HT around the time I got my ham license before senior year. My radio was found only on one occasion and I showed the vice principal my license when I was asked about the HT. No one understood what ham radio was so they let it drop and didn't take my radio. We even had a section in our Student Code of Conduct that prohibited "unauthorized communication devices" if I remember the wording correctly. I went to school post-Columbine but pre-9/11 and while there was more security following the former event, they only seemed to care about real issues and threats, etc. I also went to a high school with a lot of kids whose parents were scumbag lawyers so the administration folks weren't necessarily in too much of a hurry to bother kids over pointless BS like a scanner (or cellphone).

Just keep it out of sight and don't tell anyone about it or leave it home if you think it'll be an issue.

[KAA951]

Originally Posted by kingras

That is true in some matters but in the student handbook it would have to say I could not bring my scanner to school, my mother is also in Administration at another district she said if it happpend in her district she would be perfectly fine with it. But if I go in one Monday and the VP and asks me for it I will say I do not consent to any searches or seizes as a student I have that right.

I have to shake my head at this attitude. Is this what we are teaching? That unless it is written down, I can do it- that the Vice Principal can't tell me what to do- that my mommy said it was okay, so everyone else is wrong?

You have the right to go to school to learn. You don't have a right to carry a scanner in the school.

There are times like this I really fear for the future of our nation.

[kd0fmg]

I always had teachers bug me about mine when I was in high school. I was a ham operator my freshmen year. I'd usually argue with them to the point they would send me to the office. To those teachers' disappointment the SRO or school resource officer is a HAM operator as well and we are good pals. He objected and said if something were to happen such an active shooter scenario or other types of disaster don't you think you would want someone with reliable communication within the school that could pass on priority messages to authorities? I actually had a few teachers tell me to leave it on during class when there was severe weather in the area so we could know what was coming our way! After that the teachers would still bug me but you could tell that they were absolutely ticked off that they couldn't do anything about it!

[searingxheretic]

Originally Posted by radioman316

Three and the biggest one, he has every constitutional right to bring it to school.

HTH

73's

If it is a private school, they can restrict whatever they want from coming into it.

If it is a public school, it is still owned by a private entity aka school board, and they can restrict whatever they want from coming into it.

This is the same as them telling students they must use a clear backpack, or wear a uniform. If you want to go to that school, abide by their rules. If you don't want to abide by the rules, ask your parents to homeschool you.

Sent from my cm_tenderloin

[radioman316]

Originally Posted by searingxheretic

If it is a private school, they can restrict whatever they want from coming into it.

If it is a public school, it is still owned by a private entity aka school board, and they can restrict whatever they want from coming into it.

This is the same as them telling students they must use a clear backpack, or wear a uniform. If you want to go to that school, abide by their rules. If you don't want to abide by the rules, ask your parents to homeschool you.

Sent from my cm_tenderloin

I beg to differ. Public school's are not private in ANY way and that includes your poposterious claim that the school board is a private entity. The school board here answers to the county commission and the voters of our county in a public election as well.

We had some tightwads years ago try to cram uniforms down the school board's throats but the pubic voters said no to uniforms as well as the student's themselves.

if it doesn't pose a safety hazard or disrupts classes, it can be carried and all of us are right we we say to keep it hidden and use ear buds

[searingxheretic]

Believe what you like, but the US Supreme court says schools are a "reserved, closed, or non-public forum". They also said that constitutional rights are not guaranteed in a reserved, closed, or non-public forum.

Sent from my cm_tenderloin

[AZScanner]

Dear God, this is almost as good a troll as the Captain Scanner days on Usenet!

OK, maybe not, but come on, common sense, kid. Why did you bring your scanner to school in the first place? And if you did (as I did when I was a kid) why did you tell anyone you had it? I used headphones with mine and told everyone I was listening to a walkman (remember those, wow between that and the Captain Scanner reference I'm really dating myself here). You can't let The Man know you're listening in, because in his small world, you have no rights and even if you do, you're just some high school freshman and he's The Man. What are you gonna do? You can't fight city hall my friend.

Good luck,
-AZ

[puterman]

As I tell High School students all the time, why draw attention to yourself.
I carry a police scanner in my car. I have brought it in a few times when the weather turned ugly. Otherwise it stays in my car.
I have never seen a student with a police scanner or ham radio on my campus. I am one of the few that would know what they are.