Other proposed changes would limit which search engines and devices can be used on the district network, as well as bar 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.
These rules are among many proposed revisions to the district's "Internet Safety and Network Use" policy, last updated in 2012. Many of the changes reference technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based computing that was rare or nonexistent 12 years ago.
The revised policy will be taken up Thursday by the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board. If the changes are advanced, a final vote would be set for Nov. 21.
In a memo, Gwynn Shamlin, general counsel for the school system, said a lot has changed since 2012.
"Since then, the language of technology has grown and adapted to the highly technical systems and processes that govern our teaching and learning, cybersecurity, business processes, and much more," he said.
The revisions were suggested by an in-house committee that met this spring and included teachers, school leaders, department heads and technology staff. Its goal was to remove or update policy language "no longer consistent or appropriate in 2024," Shamlin wrote.
Many local school districts have Internet use policies that have been untouched for years. For instance, West Baton Rouge Parish schools' policy has not changed since 1999.
West Feliciana Parish is an exception, updating its policy earlier this year.
Also 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 Chromebooks. Those computers have been in heavy use since, particularly when students routinely used them at home during the COVID pandemic.
The revised policy being debated Thursday would make students 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. The school system has generally refrained from instituting technology fees or billing parents if a Chromebook breaks.
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."
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 ChatGPT 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.
Here are other suggested rule changes:
- Barring students from using district "resources or devices" to chat with other students "unless authorized by the district and directly supervised by a teacher or EBR staff."
- Requiring "multifactor authentication process" for employees working remotely.
- No use of "non-approved PDF editors" and other non-approved computer programs.
- Employees can't violate the terms of service if they use a streaming service at school.
- New training in cybersecurity and "cyber safety" for employees and students; students would need such training before they could access the district network.
- New policy guidance for employees every year for both cybersecurity and AI.
