Youth are still developing, so as a result society treats kids and adults differently in several contexts, such as driving and serving in the military. Yet in the criminal justice system, we treat youth as adults.
We have been receiving requests for assistance regarding the computer spyware being used in various schools. We agree that this could be a serious problem, especially if the spyware is able to access non-school-related materials and/or if it is installed on a computer that people other than the student uses.
One thing students and parents can do is to try to organize other students and families to publicly oppose the use of such spyware. Here are some examples involving schools and colleges, which may provide ideas you wish to replicate. This includes a recent successful campaign in Montclair, NJ, to halt the use of spyware.
- https://www.montclairlocal.news/2021/03/02/hundreds-petition-against-monitoring-montclair-students-with-goguardian/
- https://www.montclairlocal.news/2021/03/08/montclair-schools-halt-use-of-goguardian-monitoring-for-now/
- https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7wxvd/students-are-rebelling-against-eye-tracking-exam-surveillance-tools
- https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k9ag4/schools-are-abandoning-invasive-proctoring-software-after-student-backlash
- http://laschoolreport.com/teacher-cams-could-revolutionize-education-after-the-pandemic-ends-but-some-critics-see-a-massive-student-privacy-risk/
This article also provides some good background on why such apps are a problem: https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/those-free-remote-learning-apps-have-a-high-cost-your-students-privacy/
If you want to find more information about how to engage your local school board members on this (or other) topics, you can check out a toolkit on our website here: https://www.aclu-wi.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/aclu_rightsforall_final.pdf
