Education Leaders Reports cover hot topics as well as over-the-horizon thinking on education. They provide a deep dive into the background on policy issues, relevant research, and practical steps that the research findings imply for state policymaking.
Despite introducing more than 400 bills on student data privacy since 2014, states have yet to address privacy protections for school surveillance or its inequitable effects. NASBE Legal Fellow J. William Tucker and Amelia Vance, NASBE’s director of education data and technology, identify the benefits and potential problems that school surveillance poses, and they suggest six principles to guide state policymakers toward effective, balanced policies.
The desire to keep students safe is among the top reasons why schools use surveillance technologies. But the authors warn that surveillance can be abused and lead to unintended consequences. “Security measures can interfere with the trust and cooperation learning requires by creating barriers among students, teachers, and officials and casting schools in a negative light in students’ eyes,” write Tucker and Vance. As a result, students may feel less nurtured, more uncomfortable in their learning environment, and more fearful of voicing their opinions in class.
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Savvy state leaders will set their sights on ways to broaden access to technology’s benefits, solve problems confronting educators, and protect students against the risks of misuse.
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Many state boards of education reserve a seat at the board table for students. But representation is only the first step. Students need to be proactive and receive mentorship to be effective in their state board roles.
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