As an educator I have been following this story all day.
See currently Rec'd Diary School disciplines student for inappropriate... by b00g13p0p
I was shocked at first, thinking it was some irate parent creating a fantasy in order to cover for a wayward child.
Then I read the complaint and was somewhat amazed at the detail and the alleged statements by the Assistant Principal, both to the student accused and to the parent.
I thought that if the complaint was even close to the truth, massive dismissals should be occurring in that school district.
Well, it has just gotten worse. The school Superintendent has basically admitted the story. "The laptops do contain a security feature intended to track lost, stolen and missing laptops. This feature has been deactivated effective today."
Details and link below the fold.
One of the more recent trad med news stories quoted the building principal from the school's website.
So I visited the website of Harriton High School, went to "Announcements" and found this:
(bold italics mine)
LMSD response to 'invasion of privacy' allegation
Updated 2/18/10 5:26 PM
Dear LMSD Community,
Last year, our district became one of the first school systems in the United States to provide laptop computers to all high school students. This initiative has been well received and has provided educational benefits to our students.
The District is dedicated to protecting and promoting student privacy. The laptops do contain a security feature intended to track lost, stolen and missing laptops. This feature has been deactivated effective today.
The following questions and answers help explain the background behind the initial decision to install the tracking-security feature, its limited use, and next steps...
Later in the announcement, the Superintendent explains:
* How did the security feature work?
Upon a report of a suspected lost, stolen or missing laptop, the feature was activated by the District's security and technology departments. The tracking-security feature was limited to taking a still image of the operator and the operator's screen. This feature has only been used for the limited purpose of locating a lost, stolen or missing laptop. The District has not used the tracking feature or web cam for any other purpose or in any other manner whatsoever.
The admission is exactly what the lawsuit alleges the Assistant Principal used to accuse the student and subsdquently confirmed to the parent - a still image taken with the student's laptop webcam by remote activation from the school.
So how many student bedrooms have been invaded prior to the shutdown today?
If the suit allegations turn out to be true (and the carefully-worded announcement seems to indicate it IS ALL true), everyone from the Assistant Principal on down to the Superintendent should be looking for new work by Monday (Waste Management, anyone?)
I cannot believe even Michelle Bachmann and Glen Beck could dream up anything so utterly invasive and un-American.