School Climate & Safety News in Brief

New York State Halts District’s Plans To Install Facial-Recognition Software

By Alyson Klein — June 04, 2019 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

New York state has put the brakes on a district’s planned trial run of new facial-recognition software aimed at improving school safety, after civil liberties advocates raised alarm bells about the program’s impact on student privacy.

The Lockport City district had been scheduled to go through a planned test of the new system this week. But the state education department wants the district to more carefully evaluate the system to be sure that “student data will be protected with the addition of the new technology.”

If the state hadn’t hit the pause button, the Lockport district would have become one of the first in the country to try out facial-recognition software.

The goal of the software is to enable security officers to quickly respond to the appearance of expelled students, disgruntled employees, sex offenders, or certain weapons the system is programmed to detect, according to the Associated Press.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the June 05, 2019 edition of Education Week

Events

Student Well-Being K-12 Essentials Forum Boosting Student and Staff Mental Health: What Schools Can Do
Join this free virtual event based on recent reporting on student and staff mental health challenges and how schools have responded.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
Practical Methods for Integrating Computer Science into Core Curriculum
Dive into insights on integrating computer science into core curricula with expert tips and practical strategies to empower students at every grade level.
Content provided by Learning.com

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Climate & Safety Do Cellphone Bans Work? Educators Share Their Experiences
Educators describe how policies banning cellphones at school are affecting students and learning.
6 min read
Photo illustration of cell phone with red circle and slash.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
School Climate & Safety Disparities, Bullying, and Corporal Punishment: The Latest Federal Discipline Data
As most schools offered hybrid instruction in 2020-21, Black students and students with disabilities were disproportionately disciplined.
5 min read
The image displays a lonely teenage boy facing away from the camera, sitting on the curb in front of his high school.
Discipline data from the 2020-21 pandemic era, released by the U.S. Department of Education, shows persisting disparities in discipline based on race and disability status.
iStock/Getty
School Climate & Safety From Our Research Center Where Should Students Be Allowed to Use Cellphones? Here’s What Educators Say
There’s a yawning gap between what's permitted and what educators feel should be allowed.
2 min read
Tight crop photo of a student looking at their cellphone during class. The background is blurred, but shows students wearing uniforms.
E+
School Climate & Safety Explainer What Is Restraint and Seclusion? An Explainer
Restraint and seclusion are dangerous practices that are used to control students with disabilities, experts say.
8 min read
schoolboy sitting on a chair isolated in a hallway
DigitalVision/Getty