New internet rules for Baton Rouge students and employees, including new restrictions on taking and sharing photos and videos, advanced on Thursday, but school leaders still have questions.
Other changes include limiting which search engines and devices can be used on the district network, as well as barring students and employees from using personal hot spots and virtual private networks (VPN) on school grounds even if they are not connected to the district network.
East Baton Rouge Parish School Board member Nathan Rust made a successful motion to move forward with the revised policy, but to do so without recommendation, ensuring a fresh debate when the item is up for final approval on Nov. 21.
Rust did not share his concerns during the meeting. Afterward, he said he is concerned about and wants more information on a provision that would allow students to use “approved” search engines.
“Why do we need to restrict search engines?” Rust asked.
Also speaking afterward, Board Vice President Patrick Martin V questioned language barring the “taking photos and/or videos” of students and employees and then sharing them. He noted that district staff routinely take and share photos of students who attend school events.
“I’m worried that that’s a little overly broad,” Martin said.
Amy Jones, chief of technology, told Rust and Martin she would look back in her notes and pinpoint the precise reasoning for each of the suggestions.
The district’s “Internet Safety and Network Use” policy was last updated in 2012. Much of the new language references technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based computing that was rare or nonexistent 12 years ago.
The revisions were suggested by an in-house committee that met this spring and included teachers, school leaders, department heads and technology staff.
The internet use policies at many local school districts have been untouched for years. For instance, West Baton Rouge Parish schools’ policy has not changed since 1999. West Feliciana Parish, by contrast, updated its policy earlier this year.
In 2022, East Baton Rouge floated but later withdrew a controversial policy that would have set new limits on employees and how they use social media outside of school.
This school year, Louisiana instituted a new law requiring students to turn off and stow away their phones during the school day.
Computer use in schools has grown substantially in the past 12 years.
In 2016, East Baton Rouge became a “one-to-one” district in most grades, meaning that every student in those grades received a Chromebook. Those computers have been in heavy use since, particularly when students routinely used them at home during the COVID pandemic.
Among the proposed policy changes, students would now be responsible for “the care and maintenance of any EBR device assigned to them” as well as for any “intentional and incidental damage caused by the student” to that device. It is not clear what kind of enforcement would occur.
Students who act irresponsibly with Chromebooks and other school-issued devices already face potential discipline or fines if they “willfully” damage such a device. Jones said the new language clarifies the extent of that responsibility.
The proposed restrictions on sharing photos and videos expand on a long-standing rule that students and employees can’t “distribute private information about themselves or others.”
Jones said the new language is meant to block students from doing things like posting video of student fights to online sites that make money off such offerings. Martin, however, noted that sometimes school officials get good information on school incidents from student videos.
In a nod to recent scandals where students and adults had inappropriate relations, one new provision specifies that school employees are not to use district resources or devices to “communicate directly with students unless via a method authorized by the district.”
Employees would still be able to share photos and videos of fellow employees provided they have “the verbal or written consent of that employee.” Similarly, employees could still use personal hot spots and VPN as long as the former is “secured” and the latter is “authorized.”
AI tools such as Chat GPT would face new restrictions. Students could use them only if they are approved, and they would need to cite their AI use in instances where copyright law might come into play. They also could not use AI to commit crimes or violate codes of conduct.
