Technology vs. Law in K12 Schools

Technology advancement and access to data has changed how we K-12 students, teachers and administrators operate on a daily basis and we all can certainly agree that there are real legal, policy and regulatory issues that need to be addressed. One recommendation New America gives is staying out of students’ social media and that most students think that monitoring social media is a privacy violation. As a citizen and former student I can completely agree and sympathize with that notion, but my administrator feels differently about it. Students use social media and text messages as a main source for communication, expression, etc. I find it negligent for policy to blanketly say we should not use social media for discipline purposes especially with other social justice and safety issues schools face today. I do however feel the law needs to find an intricate balance between privacy and safety.

Students also echoed that institutions should avoid peer reporting structure like “snitch” websites because students would no longer find the campus culture welcoming. However as many leaders can attest to the majority of the information we encounter that leads to student safety is from students. So the question becomes not if we should or should but what is the best measure to do so. Again, I lean in the direction of “balance”.

The case that I did a case study on this past week Jackson vs. McCurry is a great example of a case that mimics some of the issues from above. A in depth phone search over alleged bullying led to a case that outlined both First and Fourth Amendment issues. Even though the findings in the case granted all school staff qualified immunity this case and others have yet to be taken by the Supreme Court. I can help but wonder if policies that were clearly communicated and/or policies clearly outlined privacy and data laws cases such as the Jackson case may have not occurred or escalated to depth the case did.

Above all, one of the immediate suggestions I do agree with for K-12 and higher Ed is that we should adopt and clearly communicate data policies to all of our stakeholders. From the Supreme Court to school policy we have got to start wanting to tackle these new privacy issues that have arisen since technology has hit the scene and we need to be open and clear about what they are. We should not be surprising our students in gotcha moments with discipline over uncertain or hidden policy. In any case public opinion will vary and as we continue to navigate this virtual learning world more difficulties will arise. It should be our prerogative and duty to keep students safe in-person and between 1's and 0's of the online world.