School district officials continue to fine tune new policies and regulations, but it is clear now that it will not be business as usual.
Lower Merion School District Superintendent Chris McGinley told those attending Monday night's meeting, "We will be sending a lot of new information to parents on all levels this year around issues of technology."
Whatever new policies are enacted, the school district plans to go out of its way to make sure all students and parents know what they are.
Among those being considered, all students and parents will be required to sign consent forms on the use of school issued laptops. That they understand that they have no expectations of privacy.
At no time will any district employee look at or review student files unless there is reasonable suspicion the student is violating school rules or policies. Further, that if IT personnel need to access the laptop remotely to resolve a technical problem, the students permission must be documented.
And finally, no more remote activation of those controversial webcams.
In reference to the future activation of webcams on the student laptops, McGinley said, "We don't have any capability to do that and all the policies that are being discussed tonight and will be adopted in August will prevent us from ever doing that in the future."
The development comes in the wake of a lawsuit and federal investigation into how, when and why Lower Merion officials activated the webcams. An investigation commissioned by the district found that the webcams had been activated 80 times and generated more than 56,000 photos - mostly from laptops that had been reported missing or stolen.
Student Blake Robbins learned that his was one of them when an assistant principal confronted him with a picture secretly taken in his bedroom by his webcam showing him with a handful of what she thought were illicit drugs.
Robbins says it was Mike and Ike candy.
This case has prompted educators across the country to reexamine where protecting school property ends and invading student privacy begins. The new policies being considered can be reviewed on the school web page lmsd.org.
The board is likely to vote on the new regulation on August 16th.
