Parkland Officer’s Acquittal Raises Questions About School Cops’ Duty to Protect
Less than a month after a gunman killed 17 people at his former high school in Parkland, Florida, lawmakers required an armed official be stationed at every K-12 school statewide. The intent after the...
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New $200 Million FCC Proposal Could Help Schools Combat Cyber Attack Onslaught
As ransomware and other cyber attacks become an increasingly potent threat to schools nationwide, a proposal by Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel seeks to create the...
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Schools Are Now the Leading Target for Cyber Gangs as Ransom Payments...
Shoddy cybersecurity practices and a willingness to pay ransom demands have made school districts ripe for online exploitation, new data suggest. In fact, they’ve become the single leading target for...
View ArticleWhite House Rolls Out Cybersecurity Initiative as Schools Face Devastating Hacks
Updated, Aug. 7: A tornado watch forced the postponement of the White House K-12 cybersecurity summit from 4 p.m . Monday to 10:30 a.m. EST Tuesday. Check back on The 74 for Mark Keierleber’s full...
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White House Takes On Urgent K-12 Cybersecurity Threat at First-Ever Summit
Shortly before First Lady Jill Biden took the podium at the White House Tuesday to champion a new federal initiative to combat K-12 school ransomware attacks, the cyber gang Medusa announced its...
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New Data: School Shootings Surge to a Record High — Two Years in a Row
Despite heightened concerns about campus safety since the pandemic, in many ways America’s public schools are safer today than they were a decade ago, federal campus crime data released Wednesday...
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It’s Back to School for Cyber Gangs, Too
As a new academic year begins, a school district in an affluent Washington, D.C., suburb is rolling out stringent security measures, including metal detectors and a clear backpack mandate, to keep...
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ChatGPT Is Landing Kids in the Principal’s Office, Survey Finds
Ever since ChatGPT burst onto the scene last year, a heated debate has centered on its potential benefits and pitfalls for students. As educators worry students could use artificial intelligence tools...
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New Report: School Shootings Spawned ‘Digital Dystopia’ of Student Surveillance
Updated, Oct. 4 Reeled in by deceptive, fear-based marketing and an influx of federal cash, school leaders have purchased and pervasively deployed student surveillance tools while failing to consider...
View ArticleExclusive: Dems Urge Federal Action on Student Surveillance Citing Bias Fears
A coalition of Democratic lawmakers on Thursday called on the U.S. Education Department to investigate school districts that use digital surveillance and other artificial intelligence tools in ways...
View ArticleFeds Probe Marketing Push Behind AI ‘Weapons Detection’ Tool Used in Schools
Federal officials have opened an inquiry into the marketing practices of a security company that’s landed multi-million dollar school district contracts by promising its artificial...
View ArticleBiden Order on AI Tackles Tech-Enabled Discrimination in Schools
Updated Nov. 1 As artificial intelligence rapidly expands its presence in classrooms, President Biden signed an executive order Monday requiring federal education officials to create guardrails that...
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Why a New Brand of Cyberattack on Las Vegas Schools Should Worry Everyone
It was a Thursday morning when Brandi Hecht, a mother of three from Las Vegas, woke up to an alarming email from a student in another state whom she’d never met. “I’m so sorry to tell you this but...
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Louisiana District Failed to Notify Thousands of Leaked Info After Cyberattack
This story was produced in partnership with The Acadiana Advocate, a Louisiana-based newsroom. It was early August when teacher Heather Vidrine first heard about a cyberattack on her former school...
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‘Huge Influx’ of Civil Rights Complaints to U.S. Ed Dept Since Israel-Hamas War
Amid reports of heightened antisemitism and Islamophobia in schools and colleges since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, a senior Education Department official said the agency has received a “huge,...
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Federal Data Shows a Drop in Campus Cops — For Now
More than 1 in 10 schools with a regular police presence removed officers from their roles in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a Minneapolis cop, new federal data on campus crime...
View ArticleRelied on by Parents, Hailed by Schools, GPS Bus Trackers Raise Security Risks
Louisville father Robert Bramel began to panic. Hours after the first day of elementary school ended in August, his two sons hadn’t yet returned home, and he grew frightened for their safety. It...
View ArticleLawmakers Duel With Tech Execs on Social Media Harms to Youth Mental Health
During a hostile Senate hearing Wednesday that sometimes devolved into bickering, lawmakers from across the political spectrum accused social media companies of failing to protect young people online...
View ArticleLeaked Active School Shooter Plans Revive Scrutiny of Ed Tech Privacy Pledge
A security lapse at a leading school safety company that exposed millions of sensitive records online — including districts’ active-shooter response plans, students’ medical records and court...
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A History of Holding Parents Responsible for Their Kids’ Crimes
Just three days before her 15-year-old son carried out a mass shooting at his Michigan high school in 2021, Jennifer Crumbley was captured on security camera leaving a shooting range with the handgun...
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Florida Students Seize on ‘Parental Rights’ to Stop Educators From Hitting Kids
Inside a Florida high school principal’s office, Brooklynn Daniels found herself alone with two men and a wooden paddle “that was thick like a chapter book.” In about a third of Florida school...
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Minnesota Dems Push to Repeal School Ban on Restraint That Killed George Floyd
Nearly four years after George Floyd suffocated to death while being pinned face down to the pavement by a police officer, Minnesota Democrats are fast-tracking legislation that would undo a...
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‘Distrust, Detection & Discipline:’ New Data Reveals Teachers’ ChatGPT Crackdown
New survey data puts hard numbers behind the steep rise of ChatGPT and other generative AI chatbots in America’s classrooms — and reveals a big spike in student discipline as a result. As artificial...
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For Many Teachers, Gun Lockdowns and School Shooting Fears Are Now Inescapable
Teachers are routinely forced to hide in their classrooms and most fear a shooting could unfold at their workplace amid an unprecedented spike in school gun violence over the last several years, a new...
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Room Scans & Eye Detectors: Robocops are Watching Your Kids Take Online Exams
Remote proctoring tools like Proctorio have faced widespread pushback at colleges. Less scrutiny and awareness exists on their use in K-12 schools. Updated, correction appended April 18 In the middle...
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