Education
Education

Technology and privacy clash in schools

By Ty Tagami
Feb 22, 2016

ExploreMore at the AJC Get Schooled blog

Back story: Students' data at center of privacy concerns

Parents who let their children use apps or online tools at school could be giving tech companies all they need to assemble “psychological profiles” on them, said one Georgia lawmaker.

Sen. William T. Ligon, Jr., R-Brunswick, has legislation that would force schools to declare the use of tech tools in school and let parents opt out. “This is a tremendous amount of information on a child,” he said.

Senate Bil 281 got a hearing in the Senate Education and Youth committee Monday, where it remained without a vote after concerns expressed by members. One big worry: putting more work on teachers, who would be required to create alternative paper-based educational plans for students who swear off screens.

“Teachers would really want to pull their hair out if they get one more mandate,” said committee member JaNice VanNess, R-Conyers.

About the Author

Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.

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