Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • NPR

    When School Safety Becomes School Surveillance

    More and more schools are investing in technologies that scan social media posts, school assignments and even student emails for potential threats. Privacy experts say the trade-offs aren't worth it.
    by Anya Kamenetz Sep 12, 2019 7 minutes
    Source: Delphine Lee

    In a photo taken last March, a teenage boy is sitting at his desk with a plastic pellet gun that looks a lot like an AR-15. The airsoft rifle is propped up on the arm of a chair, pointing at the ceiling, and the boy, Eric, is looking at the camera. We're not using his last name to protect his privacy.

    Eric's friend took the picture. At the time, Eric says, he didn't realize his friend had captioned the photo "Don't come to school Monday" and had sent it to others on Snapchat.

    "I don't think he really had the intention of getting me in trouble," Eric says, explaining his friend's post as "dark humor."

    But Eric, who is now in 10th grade, did get in trouble.

    Someone reported the photo to Miami-Dade County Public Schools, where Eric is a student. Two police officers and Eric's principal took him out of class to question him. "I was terrified," Eric says. "They think that I wanted to shoot up the school, and I didn't. I didn't want to at all."

    Eric was recommended for expulsion. His parents fought it, explaining that he didn't

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from NPR

    NPR3 min read
    Apple Shows Its Steepest Quarterly Decline In IPhone Sales Since Pandemic's Outset
    The 10% drop in year-over-year iPhone sales for the January-March period is latest sign of weakness in a product that generates most of Apple's revenue.
    NPR5 min readAmerican Government
    Six Months Out From The Election, Wisconsin Students Weigh Voting For Biden
    Wisconsin's young voters — who have turned out in big numbers in recent elections — are key for either candidate to win the state. But Biden is facing some skepticism on the state's college campuses.
    NPR4 min readInternational Relations
    Senior UN Official Says Northern Gaza Is Now In 'Full-blown Famine'
    Cindy McCain, the American director of the U.N. World Food Program, became the most prominent official so far to declare that trapped civilians in northern Gaza had gone over the brink into famine.

    Related Books & Audiobooks