Is this legal?

Photographing children without parental consent, then using the pictures as a marketing ploy.

The local public school has began offering two sets of school pictures each year. We must sign a permission form for the first set, send the money in advance, then we receive our pictures. The second set, they photograph the children without parental permission, send the pictures home with the children, then expect the parents to return the photos or pay the price. This makes me very angry that they do this, but i cannot find a law pertaining to it. it would be simple and painless to send the pictures back, but i do not think that this is right.

i live in missouri and would appreciate input.

Sounds like a scam to me and a little odd.

I would try not to sign anything and work out a way to just have your child's photo in the year book.

Let's face it, school photos always sucked anyway so it's not that big of a deal.

Seriously, you're better off taking the kids to Sears.

I don't like the idea of giving anyone the permission to spy on anybody, especially minors.

I also don't think it matters if there is a legal precedent. You can always say no, and if they refuse to put your childs photo in the year book (even if you offer to supply your own) then you may have a civil case or even a legal case.

Right to privacy maybe? Though if the school is public, then I don't think right of privacy applies.

Basically what I'm trying to say is I don't know what the "F" I'm talking about.

But I know a scam when I see one and this is a scam.

Spider

yeah i got this new photo thing last week too. Pictures will be taken on 4/26. I usually buy the pictures anyway....yah i know...i'm a sucker....but my kids only go thru school once.

But it is kinda of a devious ploy isn't it. I would think that if the majority of the parents returned the pics, the photo company might see themselves losing money for printing all those pics and getting them returned, maybe they won't do it again. But I want to know what are they going to do with the returned pics? destroy them or use them for advertising or something else?

My last year of highschool (2 years ago) every student had a required photo, that wased used for ID's and the yearbook. Then optional photo's with packages and what not, that we could buy, that could also be used for the year book, and school ID's. But they never tried to sell you the required one. Didn't even bother to show us them. Just kept them in the school database.

Odd that they try and scam you with this required photo now..

They probably destroy the unused photos. There is nothing illegal about the photographing of the student since it's in a public school. All they are trying to do is try to lure you to buying more pictures. What they lose in producing the shots that aren't bought, they make up for from the ones that are bought as an impulse or the parent has to pay for it because the student/parent loses it. It's the old salesman add on, "You like that, well then why not get this one that we went ahead and made, too" It doesn't sound like the images get sold off for marketing. In marketing, it is much cheaper to get those kinds of images from a stock photography source rather than the school photographers.

If they place these photos in the hands of children to take home to their parents, how would the parent be liable for their loss?