A new UC San Diego study reveals widespread student surveillance, with 86% of monitoring companies tracking kids 24/7 on school and personal devices, raising major privacy concerns for families.
Monitoring Extends Beyond School Hours
School safety tools are intended to stop bullying, flag mental health struggles, and prevent school shootings. However, a new report highlights a significant expansion of how this school monitoring software operates.
The UC San Diego study on student privacy reveals that 86% of companies providing these services monitor students day and night. This surveillance is not limited to school hours or school-issued devices.
It can include every Google search, message, and online activity, even at home on personal phones and laptops.
AI Assigns Student Risk Scores
The report found that 71% of these companies rely on AI to flag student behavior. This means an algorithm often decides if a student’s actions are considered potentially “risky.“
This use of AI in education surveillance leads to nearly a third of these companies assigning “risk scores” to students based on what they type or search online. The practice raises significant questions about student risk scores privacy and oversight.
The Impact of Constant Student Surveillance
According to the research, approximately 36% of these companies monitor student-owned devices. This is often accomplished through school-required applications, browser plug-ins, or other software installations.
The pervasive nature of this monitoring was highlighted in one case where a teen was suspended after an unsent email draft was collected by a monitoring company’s database. While some feel these tools “can do a lot of good,” such incidents underscore the reach of these systems.
Steps for Parents to Take
Parents are advised to ask their child’s school about how its monitoring tools work and what happens to the data that is collected. Sending an email to a school administrator or scheduling a meeting can provide more specific details.
It is also important for parents to ensure their children understand that anything they do on a school-issued device is being monitored. Depending on the school’s setup, their personal phones or laptops could also be tracked.
