Student GPS Tracking: Security And Legal Issues Schools Need - BusBoss However, among the policies we investigated, encryption was most often only mentioned in connection with protecting the billing information of clients. To successfully execute any privacy-protecting policies and safeguards, (7) teachers need better training in technology and digital privacy. 'Tracking' students can be beneficial, study finds Parents concerns above highlight the extent to which student privacy violations may go beyond the classroom. EFF Launches Surveillance Self-Defense Guide for Students. Simple changes to the definitions of student personal information and school service providerto bring them in line with how we generally understand those plain-English termswould amount to more meaningful protection of student data. As Jeff explained it, In the end, Google is an advertising company. Lead by example with the librarys privacy policy. The bill's enforcement without ** This post is one section of a more extensive piece on Brazils platform accountability and regulation debate. Refer to the ALAs guidelines for school library privacy policies41 to protect students privacy when they interact with the librarys systems, applications, and collections. Even if your school claims to use geofencing (i.e. Here we draw on our own interactions with ed tech stakeholders as well as the California Attorney Generals ed tech guidelines.47. The school or district should not use it as an opportunity to police student conduct outside of the educational context (e.g., clauses that dictate what students can and cannot say on social media) or to grant itself additional authorization (e.g., giving school officials the right to conduct searches of students devices). The district maintains a website for parents to obtain information regarding technology in the classroom, but I have not found anything there about student privacy. The law requires the states Department of Education to identify training resources and make them available to school districts, a crucial step toward ensuring long-term protection for student privacy. If opt-out processes are not in place, advocate for their creation. Half of respondents reported Chromebook use in their school or district, followed by iPads (32%) and Microsoft Surface tablets (3%). Absent a request from a school administrator, Lexia retains the information for as long as the account is active or as needed for Lexia to provide services. I dont know how opting out would even work. In late 2015, we launched an online survey to collect information and stories from real people about their experiences with student privacy. Unfortunately, despite seeming to promise not to track students, the only categorical commitment Google makes is to only refrain from displaying targeted ads to students on Google properties.46, Providers can implement the recommendations below while realizing their mission to improve student academic performance. Modern-Day Segregation in Public Schools - The Atlantic You and your friends might be attending an LGBTQ+ event when the photo was taken. G Suite for Education was also the most popular platform, with 63 percent of respondents reporting G Suite use in their district. 6a. Tracking - Education Week For example, a system-wide update gave Matt an opportunity to propose concurrent changes in ed tech implementation. If your school is conducting social media surveillance, they can see who posted the picture, everyone in the picture, and the time and location the picture was taken. Which of the following is the direct/schoool using? Raise your concerns with parents you already know well. Some tips for connecting with parents locally include: Once you have identified a small group of parents to work with: Given that the integration of technology in education affects their data personally, its vital that students are especially attentive to whats being integrated into their curriculum. Do schools report student information to immigration? Click the Startup tab and then click Open Task Manager . The teachers who responded to the survey were acutely aware that, even without adequate training, they were still regarded as the first line of defense in protecting student privacy. Where you can, change your social media accounts to be private instead of public, and review all new follower requests before approving them. These privacy policies must be made available to parents and students and posted on schools websites. US News is a recognized leader in college, grad school, hospital, mutual fund, and car rankings. Be a resource for selecting ed tech tools. A contractor cannot use student information for any other purpose than the purpose for which it was disclosed by the school district. But I dont know what this agreement means for my child. Our Surveillance Self-Defense Guide to student privacy covers the basics of techniques that are often used to invade privacy and track students, as well as what happens to the data that's collected, and how to protect yourself. The contract should also clarify the interaction between its terms and the companys general Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Share your privacy concerns with school administrators. First we analyze Californias student privacy law, the first state to attempt to regulate ed tech companies. Some questions to think about include: Notify parents. But, like many other legal guarantees, it took a Supreme Court case to get there. Are they in compliance with applicable state law? Its a really hard problem, but we need to come up with an answer, Matt said. And if so, is it narrowly tailored to the educational context? Survey responses showed that multiple stakeholders did not think existing technology and privacy training for teachers was keeping up with the increasing role of technology in the classroom. One public school student in New Mexico specifically voiced a desire for courses on technology: I feel like in order to start using these devices, we should be taking courses to understand them first. Sometimes school districts use a loophole in the law to get around the parental consent requirement by characterizing ed tech companies as school officials. However, the school official exception28 is only applicable to a contracting company if specific conditions are met: The ease with which ed tech providers can take advantage of the school official exception described above prevents FERPA from going far enough to protect student data. The best solutions for fighting back against surveillance dont need to involve a fancy tool or workaround. Similar to Colorados provisions for training resources, Connecticuts law establishes a task force to study student privacy issues, including investigating the creation of a toolkit for local and regional boards of education to improve data contracting practices, increasing employee awareness of student data security best practices, developing a list of approved softwares and websites, and increasing transparency on privacy information for parents. For the students who are ready to get started, the simple process is: 1. Generally, such weak credentials include personally identifiable information (such as student ID, first and last name, date of birth, etc. System administrators (or sysadmins) are at the center of ed tech implementation, and can take the first crucial steps in protecting students privacy at scale. The best way to sharpen your expertise and protect your students is to enhance your own professional privacy knowledge. Eric and his colleagues have taken several steps to protect students and support teacherschief among them providing a strong opt-out system. Your friends who dont attend your school are now included in your schools surveillance system dragnet and dont know they have been surveilled. One Utah public school parent summed up a range of concerns: Schools should not require students to use tools that involuntarily, or without express parental permission, collect data on students. Critically review the terms of click-wrap license agreements on consumer applications. Students and their families are backed into a corner. Colleges are using big data to track students in an effort to boost ABCYa! It's clear others used it however, I hope just for studying like myself, but I find it unlikely. Knowing a student's location at every moment of the day is an invasion of personal space and isn't necessary in making sure everyone's in their homeroom classes. For this discussion, you will focus on the case study "In All Fairness." The Department of Education has published a useful resource that offers specific guidance for schools and administrators as they evaluate potential Terms of Service agreements from service providers.37. New California Law Limits Schools' Ability to Track Students on Facebook These are all questions that should be answered. Avoid sharing sensitive personal information (which could include, for example, search terms and browser history) if it will be transmitted back to the provider. These contract provisions extend to ensuring parents are notified promptly. A key question in the education context is whether a school district can provide consent to collect student data to a company on behalf of the parents, or whether the company must get consent directly from the parents. A parent from a Maryland public school had suspicions about data collection, retention, and eventual use by ed tech companies: They are collecting and storing data to be used against my child in the future, creating a profile before he can intellectually understand the consequences of his searches and digital behavior. District and school leadership, as well as teachers, should be aware of how services can be approved and who has the authority to enter into agreements with providers. Outline your privacy concerns to the school or district and ask for options to opt out of technology use, or to use different devices or software. Parents were also conscious of the possibility that their childrens data would be shared, sold, or otherwise commodified in the untapped industry of selling students information for advertising and profiling. The details were generally unclear, as school privacy policies said not a word about how our kids learning is essentially becoming Googles data. One Maryland parent wrote: The school system does not even acknowledge that our childs data is being collected and possibly sold. This makes important privacy-related information more easily accessible to students, their parents, and any other concerned parties. Further, the law requires that all district and charter schools adopt a student privacy and data protection policy. Digital technologies have been ** This post is one section of a more extensive piece on Brazils platform accountability and regulation debate. Refrain from signing students up for services without getting explicit written consent from parents. In a hardware product like a laptop, are controls available to prevent the vendor. Take notice of discussions about services with which to contract as well as teachers ad-hoc adoption of tools for single-classroom use. What we want is a comprehensive snapshot of what technology experiences our son is having, especially if he has to log in to use them. In this white paper, we aim to paint a vivid picture of what it looks like when the privacy policies and practices of ed tech companies interact with real students and their families. Silent Tracking and Undocumented Students.docx - Silent Is data destroyed after my student leaves the district? One California public school student wrote: I am confused about the specifics of what my technology rights are as a student. Or, teachers will use it all and not think about privacy, she said. Some administrators argue that they need to use this technology to keep schools safe, yet there is little evidence that it works, said EFF Activism Project Manager Lindsay Oliver. With this in mind, we offer suggestions for better, more privacy-conscious school policies and communication. A comprehensive description of how data is used, avoiding meaningless statements such as to improve products and services.. When technology is a critical part of learning, insufficient opt-out options can mean students end up with a lower-quality or even discriminatory classroom experience. This monitoring can be conducted through tools ranging from students cell phones to ID cards with tracking chips, and it can easily continue when you are off campus. Tracking is the most commonly used term for ability grouping, the practice of lumping children together according to their talents in the classroom. While we cannot address them all, they provide valuable context and deserve acknowledgement. Parents, on the other hand, consistently were not satisfied to take the schools, ed tech companies, or states word, and preferred to independently verify all policy claims. Data should not automatically be collected for purposes beyond student educationfor instance, product improvement. Industry self-regulation like the Student Privacy Pledge does not go far enough to remedy such loopholes. While we cannot be sure of her counselor's motivations, the tracking of promising students of color away from college is a well-documented . Of those, 36 states have passed 73 student privacy bills into law.31 Building on comprehensive surveys of state student privacy law,32 here we highlight three states that stand out: California, Colorado, and Connecticut. The Pros and Cons of Tracking in Schools - Public School Review Location information is extraordinarily sensitiveit can reveal who your friends are and what you do when you see them, as well as what kind of medical appointments you might have or what sort of meetings or groups you attend regularly. One California public school used students birthdates as passwords. As a result of these failures in communication, the burden of investigating ed tech and its effect on privacy fell on parents and even students. The surveillance technology currently in use includes software to scan students social media posts, cameras with facial recognition and other scanning capabilities, and microphones to detect aggression. Schools can even track you on devices that they dont control: if you have to download a certain kind of security certificate to use the school Internet, they may be monitoring your browser history and messages you send. Do not track students online behavior to create a profile on them, even when they navigate away from core educational services. Parents as well as students felt this lack of choices. Pick ed tech tools carefully.