By Rob Shavell
As children head back to school, privacy should not have to be an added worry. Yet this academic year, students, parents, and educators need to understand the real harms that invasive monitoring software can cause. Despite how obvious these concerns may seem, many school systems still rely on technologies that erode student privacy.
Digital Student Monitoring Is Not New
Student monitoring in U.S. schools dates back more than a decade. As early as 2010, a Philadelphia school distributed laptops with webcams that could be remotely activated outside school hours. In 2011, the Fairfax County School Board approved indoor video surveillance across school facilities.
Over the following years, the use of surveillance technology in K–12 and higher education expanded rapidly. By 2019, a large majority of campuses had installed cameras. Schools also adopted location tracking, facial recognition systems, audio-based “aggression detection,” social media monitoring, and sophisticated risk- or behavior-scoring tools. These systems were often justified as ways to maintain discipline, monitor progress, or improve safety.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the reach of these tools as instruction moved online. Remote classroom management platforms gave teachers the ability to view students’ computer activity in real time, close browser tabs, and freeze screens. Remote exam proctoring services enabled home-based testing but also introduced new questions about the collection and use of data revealing students’ homes and bodies.
That steady expansion of surveillance has increased the range and severity of privacy threats students face.
Enter Monitoring Software, Exit Privacy
Many student monitoring vendors make no strong promises about protecting student data. Some privacy policies explicitly warn that transmitting data to their services is done “at your own risk.” At a time when education is among the top targets for cyberattacks, poorly secured monitoring platforms become attractive vulnerabilities.
For example, a cyberattack on an education platform vendor named Illuminate Technology affected more than a million students across dozens of districts, exposing data that included names, ethnicities, attendance records, and behavior incidents. Breaches like this don’t only create short-term headaches; they can leave students with long-lasting privacy risks that affect future educational and employment opportunities.
Even without a breach, monitoring tools reveal sensitive personal information. Research and surveys show these systems can expose LGBTQ+ students’ sexual orientation or gender identity without consent. In one survey, a notable share of students reported that an LGBTQ+ peer had been outed because of monitoring technology; the incidence was higher among LGBTQ+ youth themselves.
Surveillance systems can also increase law enforcement involvement. Alerts triggered outside of school hours are often handled by third parties such as police, rather than by school staff. Many teachers report students being contacted by law enforcement after a monitoring system flagged their behavior. Broadly, more than half of students express concern that their data could be shared with law enforcement.
What About Monitoring Benefits?
Teachers and parents frequently believe monitoring provides more benefits than harms. But evidence suggests those benefits are limited and uneven. Independent research indicates that many monitoring tools are used primarily for discipline rather than to improve learning, and that schools with heavy surveillance tend to have higher suspension rates and lower academic outcomes in subjects such as math.
Excessive monitoring can also discourage students from seeking help or accessing sensitive resources, like mental health support. Students from marginalized groups or lower-income backgrounds are especially likely to suffer the negative consequences of surveillance.
Student Surveillance Is Not Going Away
Although most students are back in classrooms, monitoring practices have continued and, in many places, increased. Recent data show more teachers report monitoring students on school-issued or personal devices than in previous years, and much of that monitoring occurs outside regular school hours.
That trend clashes with a broader cultural shift toward stronger data protections. Lawmakers and regulators are discussing new privacy rules for consumers, and agencies are exploring updated oversight of corporate data practices. However, any private-sector privacy reforms may not automatically cover educational institutions and the ed‑tech vendors that serve them. Advocacy groups have petitioned education officials to strengthen student protections, but meaningful regulatory change could take years.
About the author
Rob Shavell is CEO of Abine / DeleteMe, The Online Privacy Company. He is frequently quoted as a privacy expert in national media and advocates for stronger privacy legislation, including expanded state-level reforms.
Note: This article was originally published by The Learning Counsel, a research organization focused on the shift to digital curriculum in education.