School liability in case of mobile phone theft

Questioner

My son's mobile phone was stolen from the teacher's drawer. I have held the school responsible. The school says they are not responsible for this. I would like to know whether or not they are liable..?

Lawyer

It is customary that a phone is confiscated, but returned at the end of the day. Was it stolen in the meantime or during the evening/night? Because if the latter is the case, then I find the house rule that makes it possible for expensive confiscated items of students to be left unattended and without a good lock in a drawer, unreasonable and unlawful.

Questioner

It happened during the day, the room was unattended for about 1.5 hours. The drawer where the cell phones were stored had a defective lock, which was repaired after the theft, and the children had to store the cell phones in the school locker the next day.

Lawyer

That is clear: the school is liable. The next question is will it be accepted? That is not the case now. I think it makes a difference if you have a lawyer write a short letter or email, that is really worth it.