Sep 7, 2005 2 min read

The following is a letter I have drafted to the Uniontown Area School District. I encourage other parents, who are concerned with the safety of their children and their rights as parents to decide what is best for their child, to follow suit. Every year there are more and more unreasonable rules in response to a few rotten apples, and, as usual, the district throws resources at the symptom rather than the disease. The responsibility of any school is to educate my child, not regulate every breath he takes. To Whom it May Concern:

This letter is to inform you that it is my belief that the cell phone policy of the Uniontown Area School District is a violation of personal privacy and the rights of my child to protect himself and his siblings.

The economic instability we are experiencing, the fact that our governmental resources and leadership have been exposed as inadequate, and the fact that this country is at war, convinces me that my child’s ability to communicate while away from home takes precedence over school policy. I have five students within the district, three at the high school and two at Ben Franklin. We have emergency plans in place, and those plans include the use of cell phones.

My son, Tim Shellhammer, will carry a cell phone to school regardless of the policy. He will follow proper protocol by not using it during school hours, but it will be on his person and available for his use in emergency situations. In addition, if things continue to deteriorate, my son, Jonathan Jones, a seventh grade student at Ben Franklin, will also be in possession of a cell phone for emergency use. They have been instructed to passively resist any attempt by adults to remove the cell phone from their possession.

Kathryn Jones

Uniontown