My Views Are My Own
Lisa Schonhoff, Ed.S.
2/18/2025
While technology can make life easier when it comes to storing student data, it also comes with risks. Many public and private schools across our state use PowerSchool, “a comprehensive system with extensive, configurable features to meet the needs of schools and districts of all sizes and types, including public, charter, private, international schools, and more.” With a click of a button, I can check my child's grades, attendance, and more. Unfortunately, this convenience may come with downsides that are necessary to evaluate. “PowerSchool, whose school records software is used to support more than 60 million students across the United States, was hit by an intrusion in December that compromised the company’s customer support portal with stolen credentials, allowing access to reams of personal data belonging to students and teachers in K-12 schools.” As schools continue to store larger quantities of student data in these types of database systems, it is reasonable to believe that parents may have concerns regarding the personal data of their children.
Since 2020, almost every school district in Nebraska has used emergency relief funds to purchase transformative Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum materials such as Second Step. While using this type of curriculum materials, teachers are required to regularly collect the mental health data of students. Oftentimes, this data is stored in databases such as Panorama. Parents may be unaware of the surveys and how the survey data is stored.
Another form of student surveillance that is becoming more popular, especially in larger school districts, is the digital hall pass. In an effort to keep schools safer, administrators say that digital hall passes help them to know who is in the halls and when. Securly is a popular digital hall pass that tracks a students’ hallway movements. Students are provided with limited hall passes and must sign out of the classroom on their device. Securly Discern “uses AI to transform students' online activity into actionable insights aligned to K-12 standards like SEL and MTSS (Multi-tiered System of Supports). It automates data collection and analysis, providing real-time insights for efficient decision-making by educators.” Many parents are concerned that this may normalize ongoing surveillance of
students. Securly is currently engaged in a class action lawsuit due to the “unauthorized collection, recording, and dissemination of Plaintiff’s and Class Members’ data.”
Senator Danielle Conrad introduced Legislative Bill 31 which states that the “State Board of Education must create and distribute a model policy for the use of student surveillance, monitoring, and tracking technology by school districts by December 1, 2025, at the latest.” This is a bill I can get behind!
Photo Credit: Securly