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Santa Fe schools to stop Amira/Emera voice recordings pending state guidance after parents demand deletions
Summary
After an hours‑long public forum, Superintendent Griffin said Santa Fe Public Schools will stop using the voice‑recording feature of the Amira/Emera early‑literacy assessment until the Public Education Department issues clearer guidance; parents urged deletion of existing recordings and an opt‑in system for future use.
Santa Fe Public Schools announced it will refrain from using the voice‑recording feature of the Amira/Emera K–3 literacy screener while the state Public Education Department works with the vendor and provides additional guidance. "While this work continues, however, the Santa Fe Public Schools will refrain from using a mirror, including the voice recording feature, until additional guidance is available," Superintendent Griffin told the board.
The decision came after a lengthy public forum where parents and community members described discovering the tool in classrooms without prior notice and called for existing recordings to be deleted. Parent and organizer Ifeoma Ozoma said, "Amira is a data harvesting operation. Children's voices are the product," and asked the board to adopt a district privacy framework, require affirmative opt‑in consent for any future biometric collection, and obtain written confirmation that existing recordings have been deleted. Several speakers raised concerns about accuracy for English learners and students with speech differences and asked the board to consider non‑voice assessment alternatives and stronger procurement and notification practices.
