An 11-year-old student's phone was confiscated in class. Fine, her parents say. But they say what wasn't fine was the fact she didn't get the phone back and had to walk home without it. Why is that a big deal to them? It's Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.

Travis can joke and keep a straight face. Wanna see? Ask him what it's like to be a father.

Travis Frost: "Horrible. Exhausting. Expensive."

Elizabeth tries not to laugh cause she knows how he cares about her.

Travis Frost: "Yeah, it's a constant worry. It is a constant concern of her safety, I think it's any parent."

To make the family more comfortable, the Frosts rely on cell phones to keep track of each other.

Travis Frost: "Everybody in our house has a phone and that's how we communicate. I think for most parents, being able to have that quick response, if there is a concern, you can text or call."

And Elizabeth's phone created a problem after a teacher confiscated it when the 11-year-old and a friend took pictures of each other in class.

Elizabeth Frost: "Um, it was my fault for taking out my phone."

School district policy says the parent is to be notified if a phone is seized. They did call Elizabeth's mother who was in Washington D.C. in a class and couldn't notify Travis in time. And Elizabeth couldn't call after school to let her father know why he couldn't get in touch with her.

Travis Frost: "Not just going home without it, but she would be at home without it."

Elizabeth walked home. Six-tenths of a mile.

Travis Frost: "Many things that could potentially go wrong in six-tenths of a mile for an 11-year-old."

Elizabeth Frost: "When I have my phone, I'm like OK, but not having my phone anything can go wrong."

When Travis got home from work, Elizabeth told him what happened. At 4 o'clock, he went to the school to get the phone and could not.

Travis Frost: "Nobody was able to access the safe that was at school."

It's 2025. Every parent worries about their children. That day, if someone tried to grab Elizabeth on the way home, she wouldn't have been able to dial 911 or her father.

Travis Frost: "If something had happened, in an instance like this, we're going to have this phone locked in a safe that nobody can access..."

Travis is fine with confiscating a student's phone, but not happy the school wouldn't return it to his daughter after school was over.

Travis Frost: "It's very frustrating."

Howard, your turn.

Howard Finkelstein: "Legally, you can seize the phone and the district rules says you have to notify a parent, which they did. But here is the problem. If a parent cannot be there to pickup the child, you need to give the phone to the student because sending an 11-year-old on a long walk home without a phone is dangerous and legally, the district could be held responsible if something bad happened to the child."

We contacted the Broward school district. A spokesperson said the "school followed the district policy" on that day. That when they "notified the mother," she told them she "would contact Travis."

Travis said she couldn't get in touch with him until after Elizabeth got home.

The district spokesperson added, "Their policy only allows them to return the phone to the parent, but they compromised and gave it to Elizabeth the next day because of the parent's concerns for her safety while walking home."

Travis Frost: "I emailed the rep for our school board but nobody ever responded."

Clearly, Travis is frustrated but hopes the school board changes their policy before a child is hurt."

Travis Frost: "And I want to ensure that it's not Broward County school district's view that they can take the phone and hold on to it as they see fit, because I don't think they should be able to."

The school year is about to end and the school board has a couple of months to make changes, if they want to. Now, there are school districts in Florida that return the phone to the student at the end of the day, cause as everyone can agree, your child's safety is the most important thing.

Getting schooled by someone? Don't give up and phone it in. Let us seize the problem and return it to you solved. With this Help Me Howard, I'm Patrick Fraser 7News.

CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:

Email: [email protected]

Reporter: Patrick Fraser at [email protected]

Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN

Broward: 954-761-WSVN

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