The Education Reporting Collaborative, consisting of eight newsrooms, is delving into the ramifications of AI-powered surveillance in schools. Members include AL.com, The Associated Press, The Christian Science Monitor, The Dallas Morning News, The Hechinger Report, Idaho Education News, The Post and Courier in South Carolina, and The Seattle Times.
A student queried, “Why does my boyfriend hit me?” Another student threatened suicide in an email, while a gay teen expressed struggles in an online diary. In each of these and thousands of similar instances, Vancouver Public Schools in Washington state were immediately alerted by AI-driven surveillance software.
Districts like Vancouver are increasingly using technology to monitor school-issued devices 24/7. They aim to address the student mental health crisis and prevent school shootings. However, these tools have sparked intense debate over privacy and security. A records request by Seattle Times and Associated Press journalists inadvertently uncovered nearly 3,500 sensitive, unredacted student documents related to the district’s surveillance technology.
The documents reveal that students use school laptops for more than just academics, reflecting personal struggles. They write about issues such as depression, bullying, and addiction, with some content triggering immediate alerts to school staff. Unfortunately, these files were easily accessible as they were not protected by firewalls or passwords, posing a significant security risk.
While these monitoring systems help counselors reach out to struggling students, they also have unintended consequences. In some instances, the technology has breached student privacy and strained trust between students and staff. Gaggle, the company behind Vancouver’s surveillance software, argues that not monitoring students is akin to leaving them unsupervised on a “digital playground,” according to CEO Jeff Patterson.
Approximately 1,500 school districts, including Vancouver, rely on Gaggle’s software to monitor around 6 million students. The demand for such technology has surged since the pandemic, with over 7,000 schools or districts using GoGuardian’s surveillance products in 2021. Despite the intent to safeguard student well-being, the long-term effects on safety remain uncertain as independent research is lacking.
Technological surveillance has helped in some cases, allowing teachers to intervene timely. However, there are rising concerns about privacy violations, such as the inadvertent release of nearly 3,500 sensitive student documents in Vancouver. The district has since apologized, emphasizing the necessity of Gaggle for student safety.
Durham Public Schools in North Carolina piloted Gaggle but discontinued its use in 2023 after community concerns about privacy and the potential risks of student outing. Despite these issues, some argue that surveillance tools can prevent tragedies, offering a chance for intervention before it’s too late.
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