Public Notice: Technology Monitoring

Dear Perkins Local Schools Parents and Guardians:

Perkins Local School District is committed to providing students with seamless access to technology for educational purposes within the school environment. To that end, the District may issue students “school-issued devices” during the school year. These devices include hardware, software, devices, and accounts that the District, acting independently or with a technology provider, provides to an individual student for that student’s dedicated personal use.

Ohio law generally prohibits a school district or its technology provider from electronically accessing or monitoring (1) the location-tracking features of a school-issued device; (2) the audio or visual receiving, transmitting, or recording feature of a school-issued device; and (3) student interactions with a school-issued device, including but not limited to the keystrokes and web-browsing activity. However, general monitoring is permitted in certain circumstances, and in any year a school district elects to implement general monitoring, parents of enrolled students must be provided notice of such general monitoring.

As a result, the District is notifying you that it implements general monitoring when:

1. The activity is limited to a noncommercial educational purpose for instruction, technical support, or exam proctoring;
2. The activity is permitted under a judicial warrant;
3. The device is missing or stolen;
4. The activity is necessary to prevent or respond to a threat to life or safety, and the access is limited to that purpose;
5. The activity is necessary to comply with federal or state law;
6. The activity is necessary to participate in federal or state funding programs.

If you have any questions about the District’s general monitoring practices, please contact Rena McClellan, Assistant Superintendent.

Please note: The District has not implemented any new or changed monitoring services. This notice is a new requirement per Ohio Senate Bill 29 (“SB29”) that was passed by the Ohio General Assembly at the end of June 2024, was signed by Governor DeWine on July 24, 2024, and becomes effective on October 24, 2024.