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Board debates classroom-monitoring tools, visitor-ID data and new state 'bell-to-bell' cellphone guidance
Summary
Board members and public commenters pressed administrators for clarity on Securely Classroom, Gaggle and Raptor data-retention and who can access reports; the policy committee also discussed statewide 'bell-to-bell' cellphone rules and the timeline for implementation.
At the June 11 meeting the Berkeley Heights Board of Education addressed a cluster of technology and privacy issues raised by parents and board members: lesson-management software (Securely Classroom), student-safety monitoring (Gaggle), and the Raptor visitor-management system used at school entrances.
A parent asked how Securely Classroom differs from Gaggle and whether the district was acquiring overlapping services. An administrator explained Securely Classroom is used by teachers for "lesson management during the teaching of the class period" to ensure students's Chromebooks are on the expected tabs and to push instructional material to student devices; the administrator distinguished that classroom-focused capability from Gaggle, which provides broader monitoring and safety-reporting functions. Board members sought additional details about Raptor's cloud storage and retention period for scanned IDs and asked administration to return with precise terms to the Technology committee.
Online commenters also asked whether staff email and communications would be included in Gaggle monitoring and whether the district will publish aggregate reporting on false positives and incident outcomes. Administration said staff-email monitoring had been discussed previously and that follow-up is necessary to clarify how third-party vendors handle data and whether aggregate reporting will be available.
Policy committee members also discussed the state's recent "bell-to-bell" cellphone law and the practical complexities of implementing such a rule (for example, whether bus travel or lunch periods are included, and whether exceptions should exist for supervisory instruction). The committee indicated more detailed guidance from the state is expected and that the district will need to decide implementation specifics over the summer so procedures are in place before September.
Board members said they would refer technical and contractual questions to the Technology and Policy committees and asked the administration to report back with vendor retention, hosting location and data-sharing terms so the board and public can evaluate privacy implications.
