School Law Bulletin #2004/01

One of the curses that accompany the blessings technology brings to our public schools is students’ vulnerability to misguided, self-serving, and sometimes predatory users of computer technology.

This article, the second of a three-part series on technology law and public schools, addresses in some detail this topic of child protection, as well as issues of confidentiality, racial and sexual harassment, and personal privacy as they relate to the intersection of school and cyberworld. The third and final article will look at “Cybersystems: School Operations and Other General Issues.” As they are in other areas of school cyberlaw, the legal duties and protections associated with these topics are relatively new and still evolving. Because of the ease, speed, and broad accessibility of electronic communications, school officials need to be especially vigilant to protect students from Internet exploitation.