The policy was put in place to avoid violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, which is a federal law that protects student education records, according to the Texas Education Agency.
The overview
The policy was approved and will be added to the personal telecommunications portion of the student conduct after the board of trustees approved the change at its Sept. 10 meeting.
“It has come to our attention that there are different services out there now that parents subscribe to that are tracking and monitoring their children, which is a right as a parent, except when they come into the classroom. ... They can hear the conversations in the classroom and record, then it becomes a student privacy issue. Because now you're recording other people's kids as well,” AISD Superintendent Carol Nelson said at the meeting.
If a parent wishes to operate a student tracking safety device with recording or listen-in capability at school or at a school-sponsored event, they must get permission at a district level, not from a principal or teacher, Nelson said at the meeting.
What else?
While the district will prohibit these student tracking safety devices with recording or listen-in capabilities, AISD provides all elementary students with Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID student identification badges. These cards allow parents to monitor when their child gets on and off district transportation buses, according to district documents.
More information on student ID badges could be found on the district’s website.
