By Ryan Johnston and Roxy Barboza

As distance learning continues, students’ devices have become as indispensable as Internet connections. Whether the students are aware of it or not, schools often utilize activity monitoring software to view students’ screens, record their browsing and search histories, and scan their messages and documents stored online or on school-issued devices. The widespread use of this type of software can provide school districts with unfettered access into the lives of their students, adding to significant efficacy and equity gaps. 

Next Century Cities joined the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and other allies, sending a letter to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. The groups urged the agency to develop a policy statement directed at curbing harms associated with student activity monitoring under Title VI, Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and  Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The collateral damage of online student monitoring transcends privacy issues. As the FCC, NTIA, and Treasury release more funds to help schools, libraries, and homes connect to the Internet, some students will inherently need to rely on those school-issued devices more than others. Already disadvantaged students will also be subject to higher rates of unauthorized surveillance and discipline.  The Office of Civil Rights has a responsibility to protect students who have no other choice but to rely on school-issued devices. 

Read the letter in its entirety here.