Student Privacy Issues Center of Attention at Philadelphia School District

   A lawsuit brought against the Lower Merion School District, a suburban Philadelphia school district, raises some serious questions and gives a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘crossing the line.’
    The lawsuit accuses the school district for invading students privacy and spying on them at home, “potentially catching them in uncompromising situations,” through laptop Webcams issued by the school, as cited by the Associated Press. News of the remote monitoring of student activity at home broke after a school official addressed a student of inappropriate behavior at home. The school has since deactivated the tracking feature associated with the student laptops, which according to the school district, “will not be reactivated without written notification to all students and families," according to the AP report.
    The full story can be found at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-02-18-school-laptop_N.htm?csp=outbrain&obref=obnetwork.

Natalia Kosk
Assistant Editor, Security Dealer & Integrator magazine