Teacher Suspended After Jamming Students' Cellphones

A high school science teacher fed up with students paying more attention to their cellphones than him took matters into his own hands recently and landed a five-day suspension for his troubles.

Dean Liptak of Hudson’s Fivay High School managed to get his hands on a cellphone jamming device and decided to use it one day during his class to get kids to focus on their lessons, WTSP reported. While the device proved effective at blocking students’ signals, it seems it also managed to jam up service in the entire area.

Verizon, the local telephone company, came out to the school and told officials someone on the campus was using a jamming device, WTSP quoted school district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe as saying. That someone was Liptak, the station noted.

“My intent for using the device was to keep students academically focused on schoolwork,” Liptak was quoted by BayNews9 as saying.

Regardless of his intent, the school district suspended him for five days without pay, both outlets reported. That suspension will carry over to next school year since Pasco County’s last day of classes is June 3.

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Liptak could have also faced criminal charges since using a cellphone jammer is banned by the FCC. Verizon, however, opted not to prosecute.

Liptak isn’t the only Florida teacher to make headlines this year for attempting to bring students under control in an unorthodox way. In February, an English teacher in Panama City Beach found himself in hot water after firing off a profanity-laced letter to students about their insistence on sticking gum under their desks.

Image via Shutterstock

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