Even if you trust a handful of teachers or counselors, remember that your activity could be seen by other adults in the school, or even law enforcement. Don’t do anything on your device that you wouldn’t want them to see as well.
Others might advise students to “just use your personal device, on your family’s personal network.” It’s important to note that this kind of guidance isn’t accessible to all students. For low-income students, who may rely more on school technology, it may be more difficult to sidestep a school’s surveillance structures.
Mind Your Social Media
Schools might also use AI tools to track social media posts. This is particularly relevant for college students. While colleges generally don’t use content monitoring software, it’s likely they’ll monitor students’ social media for potential risk of violence or protest.
Just as you would assume that anything you type on your school-issued device can be seen and scanned by an algorithm, assume that your public social profiles can be, too. Even private accounts aren’t completely safe, says Kelley. (Yes, even your super-locked-down Finsta.) If you comment on a public account, for example, that might be scanned and subjected to social-media-monitoring algorithms as well.
If you’re in doubt, send text messages rather than using a social media platform. You might consider using an encrypted messaging app like Signal. If you’re discussing topics that might be more sensitive (such as reproductive rights access), the safest way to communicate is with a trusted person, in person.
Team Up With Other Students and Parents
After gathering your research, you might feel that your school isn’t using monitoring software fairly or appropriately. Pfefferkorn recommends having conversations with other students and parents. Listen to what they’re experiencing and how they’re thinking through it, especially if you want to push back against your school’s use of monitoring software.
If you feel you need legal support, reach out to a local agency. Pfefferkorn recommends your local ACLU, NAACP, or Restore the Fourth as good options for advocacy assistance.
Your school’s response will depend on whether you go to a public or private school. For example, a public school might be required to disclose more information, for example, about how much it spends on monitoring software. A private school would not be obliged to give that same information. As another example, while public schools must abide by the recent ruling that room-scanning proctoring software is unconstitutional, private schools do not.
Now is a critical moment for students, parents, and communities to help shape the future of safety in schools, according to Pfefferkorn. Congress passed a law that directs $300 million for schools to strengthen security infrastructure, in addition to the funding to schools through the American Rescue Plan. She hopes that communities can be more involved in how schools invest that funding, and can help shape more proactive solutions. “It’s really critical right now for us to prioritize our values as a community of what safety means,” she says. “For me, safety is not being surveilled.”
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