DOE using GoGuardian and other surveillance programs, without notifying parents or providing them info required by law

NYC parents: please contact us at info@studentprivacymatters.org if your child has GoGuardian or another surveillance app installed on their laptop, either directly or through G-Suite.   If you're not sure, instructions on how you can tell are below.  And please contact us if you're concerned about this issue in general.

GoGuardian is a controversial surveillance spyware program that can be installed on student laptops or tablets, and if not configured properly, can actually allow teachers and administrators to spy into their homes without their knowledge or consent, as happened last year in Chicago. 

According to Wikipedia " GoGuardian can collect information about any activity when users are logged onto their accounts, including data originating from a student's webcam, microphone, keyboard, and screen, along with historical data such as browsing history. This collection can be performed whether students connect from school-provided or personally-owned devices."

The use of this program has greatly expanded during the pandemic. Bloomberg News recently reported that DOE has " signed a similar contract with the company, bringing GoGuardian's potential reach to more than 23 million students."   

GoGuardian is sold by a company called Liminex.  However, after I FOILed the State Comptroller's office for any contracts between the DOE and GoGuardian and Liminex, they replied they couldn't find any such contract -- though they only receive contracts over $100,000. According to Checkbook NYC, DOE has paid over $150,000 to Liminex in recent years,  with $51,000 spent between January and August of this year.

When asked by a PEP member about whether they had a contract with GoGuardian, the DOE replied this way:

The DOE was able to Centrally make this product available to all schools through the Enterprise G-Suite/Google Workspace license at no cost to school nor to families. However, some schools have purchased/used this product locally.

On a NYCDOE Google for Education site maintained by Google, GoGuardian is listed under the category of "G-suite extenders", along with other surveillance programs, like Securly and Gaggle.

The lack of transparency and parent notification about their use of GoGuardian appears to be the DOE's attempt to evade the state student privacy law, Education Law § 2-d, which requires that districts that allow companies  access to personal student data must have a contract addendum that provides specific privacy and security protections for that data, called a Parent Bill of Rights, and this addendum is supposed to be posted on the district website.  Individual schools are not supposed to be allowed to sign up and use any such programs without going through the same legal process.

None of these addendums are posted for GoGuardian, Securly, Gaggle, or G-Suite for that matter, and most parents probably don't know if these programs are installed on their children's laptops or not.

On the DOE website, there is a very incomplete  list of vendors/contracts with their posted Parent Bill of Rights ; the DOE has signed up for literally hundreds of other such data-gathering programs without making that info available to parents, so we really have no idea how this personal information is being used and/or protected.

Last year, Sen. Brad Hoylman sent a letter to DOE about their lack of compliance with the state student privacy law; since then, the situation seems to have gotten even worse.

Here are instructions on how to tell what programs are operating in the background on a Mac;  here are the instructions for a computer using Windows.  Finally, here is  GoGuardian's explanation on how to check if their app is being used.

The battle for smaller classes continues

Despite the crying need for smaller classes in NYC public schools, and the fact that Int. 2374 had 41 co-sponsors, the class size bill is still being blocked by Speaker Johnson and will not come to a vote this session.

When asked about this last week by NY1 reporter Jill Jorgensen, the Speaker disingenuously claimed he was still working on improving the bill, but that was clearly untrue. You can find more news about this on the blog, including video of our protests at the Speaker’s office and the rally outside City Hall.

2. But we are not giving up. As I wrote about in The Nation last week, reducing inequality in this city also depends on reducing class size. The awareness that we have a unique opportunity right now to transform our schools through smaller classes has never been greater. We will advocate for an amended bill with the new City Council, which will convene early next month with a new Speaker. We are also renewing our efforts to have legislation passed in the State Legislature to require the DOE to put in place a real class size reduction plan. But we cannot achieve this without your help.

3. Please donate to Class Size Matters, to ensure that our fight for truly equitable class sizes for NYC kids is strengthened in the months ahead. And if you’d like a briefing on this issue for your President’s Council or CEC, let me know by replying to this message.

Happy holidays, and thanks as always for your support.

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
124 Waverly Pl.
New York, NY 10011
phone: 917-435-9329
leonie@classsizematters.org
www.classsizematters.org
Follow on twitter @leoniehaimson

Class size rally urging Speaker Corey Johnson to bring Int. 2374 to a vote; though he apparently will not allow this to occur

See also my new opinion piece in the Nation:   To Reduce Inequality in Our Education System, Reduce Class Sizes

On Thursday, December 9 there was parents, teachers, and elected officials rallied outside City Hall, to beg City Council Speaker Corey Johnson to bring the class size bill, Int 2374, to a vote.  Among the speakers who spoke passionately spoke about the need to lower class size and to finally bring equity to NYC children were UFT President Michael Mulgrew, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, parent leader and PEP member Tom Shepherd, and Council Members Mark Levine, Eric Dinowitz and Council Member-to-be Rita Joseph, the latter three all former classroom teachers. I wish you could hear hat they said but sadly, no one apparently taped them.

But despite the disingenuous claims of the Speaker on NY1 that  "they're in the process of making changes to [the bill] to make it feasible" and that “We’re trying to figure out the right, responsible and enforceable way to get that done,” Johnson has inexplicably turned his back on this critical reform,  and apparently will not allow a vote on the bill during this session, which means we will have to start from scratch with a new Council and a new Speaker in January. 

Below are some news stories on the rally and our effort. Also below is my impromptu response to a question from a reporter who asked about the new Adams administration's apparent intent to blame teachers for the low levels of achievement in our schools, and fire them to get improvements.  This was tried during the Bloomberg administration and in fact, nationwide over the last decade through the combined efforts of Bill Gates and Arne Duncan, and miserably failed.  Thanks to Kathy Park Price for taping this on her phone.

Corey Johnson MIA when parents, teachers and students gathered at his district office, urging him to bring Int. 2374 to a vote.

Please remember to join us at the rally today at 12:30 PM outside City Hall, on Broadway and Murray St.  This is our last chance to get Int 2374, the class size/social distancing bill, submitted, "aged" and voted on next week - the final City Council session until nearly the whole Council turns over.

Yesterday there was a rally at Speaker Corey Johnson's office - lots of parents, kids and teachers showed up to urge him to bring  the bill, to a vote.  But neither Corey nor any of district staff were  there.  Photos  below.
 

Week of action on class size!

The final NYC Council stated meeting hen the class size bill, Int 2374, could be scheduled for a vote is Dec. 16.  Today begins a week of actions to urge the Speaker and the Council to do this:

·       Today, Tues. Dec. 7, call and tweet and your Council member, to ask them to demand that Speaker Corey Johnson bring the class size bill Int. 2374 to a vote. You can find your Council member’s phone no. by putting your address in here and their twitter handles by googling [their names + twitter].  We have sample tweets listed here.  

·       Wednesday, Dec. 8, in the morning, call Speaker Johnson’ district office at 212-564-7757 & say, “I demand the Speaker schedule a vote on the class size bill.  My name is x, my number is y.  when will this happen?  Please call me back to let me know.”  If the district office # is busy, call his City Hall office at 212-788-7210 

·       On Wed. afternoon, at 3:30 PM, come to a rally outside Johnson’s district office at  224 West 30th St, [bet 7th and 8th Ave; take the  #1, # to 28th St. or any trains to Herald Sq or Penn St.] Bring your kids and bring signs! 

·       On Thurs. Dec. 10, come to a rally outside the entrance to City Hall at 12:30 PM on the E. side of Broadway at Murray St. Bring signs!  If you have time,  stay to watch the next to last stated meeting scheduled for 1:30 PM.

 

·       On Friday, Dec.11, catch up on any of the calls or tweets you haven’t yet completed.  If you’ve finished them all, send an email to the Speaker here and sign the UFT petition here.

 

You can find this calendar of events here, plus links to social media and memes to post on Facebook,

Instagram and twitter.  

Please share with everyone you know who cares about NYC kids and the future of our schools.

Last week, teachers and parents have gathered at their schools, asking Speaker Johnson to bring the bill to a vote, including on CBS News,   ABC ,   PIX News 11, and in  Gothamist . In today’s Daily News, Speaker Johnson says he is  worried that there aren’t enough funds in the capital plan to provide space for smaller classes, but that ignores the fact that the cap plan is amended each year, and the administration just proposed a new version of the plan that would actually cut the funding for new capacity by $1.5 billion, which would eliminate over already promised 11,000 school seats, despite the pandemic and billions of dollars of additional federal and state funds that could be used for create more space.

Please join us this week in the fight for smaller classes for NYC kids! 

Time is running out on the class size bill -- & how you can help!

Where's @NYCSpeakerCoJo? 👀 Now's the time to finally lower class size! Schedule a vote on Intro 2374 and lets make history! #OurKidsNeed pic.twitter.com/p4jPJ6sjF0

— UFT Unity (@UFTUnity) November 30, 2021

 1. Only about two weeks remain before the Council adjourns and a new City Council  takes office.  Please send a letter TODAY to Council Speaker Corey Johnson by clicking here-- demanding that he schedule a vote for the class size reduction bill, Int 2347.   When Johnson was running for Speaker, he promised that if 34 Council Members signed onto a bill, he would bring that bill to a vote. Int 2347 now has 40 Council Members as co-sponsors, including the Speaker himself. NYC kids need smaller classes for a safer environment and a better chance to learn! Write him today!

2. This Thursday, Dec. 2 at 6 PM EST, Class Size Matters  and NYC Kids PAC will host an emergency briefing and strategy session on class size -- what the research shows, how NYC class sizes compare to those elsewhere in the state, and what we should do to help get this bill passed. Sign up here and we'll send you a link to the event.   Join us!

3.Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Because of the pandemic, we haven't been able to hold our Class Size Matters fundraiser for the last two years. No matter what happens to this particular bill, we'll continue to provide the oversight, outreach, advocacy and analysis necessary to ensure that someday soon, our students receive the smaller class sizes they deserve.  Please give as generously as you can, to help ensure that our work continues even stronger than before.  

thanks Leonie

P.S. If you buy gifts through Amazon, by ordering through Amazon Smile, Class Size Matters will receive a small percentage of the amount.

 

The fight for smaller classes in NYC with UFT President Michael Mulgrew

Check out our latest  #TalkOutofSchool podcast with UFT President Michael Mulgrew and teachers Emily James & Tricia Arnold, who explained why they are fighting for smaller classes for NYC schools and what you can do to help. 

 

Resources:

Intro 2374 - The City Council class size reduction bill

How parents can help get this passed - Sign the UFT petition and check out Class Size Matters campaign

Gothamist's investigation of defective Intellipure air purifiers and higher Covid rates in schools without mechanical ventilation systems.

Chalkbeat NY - Settlement to give Black and Latino students more access to NYC high school sports teams

Get vaccinated and get your booster - School vaccination sites and schedules and city-run sites.

 

Urgent! Call Speaker Johnson to ask him to schedule a vote on the class size bill!

Este mensaje está en español aquí.

Leonie --

The good news is that with your help, 39 Council Members out of 49 have now signed onto Int. 2374, the bill that would require class sizes be reduced in NYC schools. This is a veto-proof majority, so that if passed, the Mayor could not block it.

The bad news is that the Mayor is trying to stop the bill from ever coming to a vote. This vote was supposed to happen Nov. 23, but has now been delayed.  

So I need your help -- please call Speaker Corey Johnson's office TODAY to urge him to schedule the class size bill for a vote. We only have a month until nearly the entire City Council turns over and we have to start from scratch.  

Here is his phone number and a suggested message, but feel free to alter it in any way you like:

Call 212-788-7210 :

I am a parent and I'm calling to urge the Speaker to schedule a vote on Intro. 2374 as soon as possible. It just isn't fair that NYC class sizes are 10-30% larger than those in the rest of the state. NYC children have waited long enough for a better chance to learn. Passing this legislation would be one of the greatest accomplishments of his time in office. My name is x, my phone no. is y., and I would appreciate a call back to find out when this vote will happen.

Then, once you've called, please fill out this form if you have time, letting us know what happened.

And please forward this message to other parents, teachers and New Yorkers who care.

Thanks Leonie

When will DOE post this year's class size data that was legally due Nov. 15?

UPDATE: the class size data was finally posted late in the afternoon on Friday Dec. 3, 18 days after the legal deadline; see the article in Gothamist.  Accurate data for last year still hasn't been provided and probably never will. Our analysis of this year's data will follow soon. .

According to a Local Law 125 passed in 2005,  the DOE is required to report on class size data by school, district, borough and citywide each year by Nov. 15, and then again on Feb. 15.  

Nov. 15 was two days ago, and yet class size data for this year has not yet been posted.  We have a clock below that started at midnight Nov. 15, to track how late the data is posted -- if it ever will. 

The DOE still hasn't posted accurate data for last year's class sizes, despite a  promise in writing by Deputy Chancellor Karin Goldmark to CM Mark Treyger that they would do so last year, and sworn testimony before the City Council by Chancellor Meisha Porter to CM Dromm about this as well.  

Instead, last February, three months late, they posted the data for (very small) in-person classes only, rather than providing any data on the remote or blended learning class sizes.  This is despite the fact that they were collecting data on the size of these classes separately since the beginning of the school year.

I will be checking regularly, but you can as well on the DOE website here; and if you see any class size data for the 2021- 2022 school year, please email us at info@classsizematters.org.

Updated! Growing support for the class size bill and how you can help!

Este mensaje es en Español aqui.

UPDATED Nov. 12, 2021

Intro 2367, the bill that would require smaller classes be phased in over three years, now has 38 out of 49  Council Members as co-sponsors. (Two Council seats are empty.) We hope this bill will come to a vote in the next ten days or so.

As of this morning, 11 Council Members have not signed on. Their names and phone numbers are below, along with the school districts they represent and their twitter handles.

This list is updated and corrected.  CM Selvena Brooks-Powers had earlier signed on; and Brad Lander and Paul Vallone have since yesterday.  Keep those calls coming!  They make a difference.  

If they are your representative, or you work or your child attends school in their district, please give them a call, and follow up with a tweet if you can. If you don’t know who your Council Member is, you can find out by filling out the form here.

Here is a sample message:

I urge you to support and co-sponsor Intro 2367, so that my child and all NYC children can have a truly equitable chance to learn. It is simply unfair that NYC children continue to be subjected to the largest class sizes in the state.

The updated list of Members who have NOT signed on is below. thanks Leonie

 

Why the Fair Student Funding Task Force report was never released, and recommendations from eight of its members

The Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools recently announced her intent to eliminate or radically reform their weighted student funding system, because it fails to properly provide for all the programs and services that students need and because it incentivizes principals to overcrowd their schools and classrooms. The same  flaws are inherent in the NYC Fair Student Funding system.

Following widespread protests, the  formula was first adopted by then-Chancellor Joel Klein in 2007, despite serious concerns as to whether it made sense and might lead to increases in class size over time (as it actually did). In January 2019, the City Council passed a law , Local Law 1174, to create a Task Force to analyze the  formula and come up with a report by Sept. 2019 with recommendations on how to improve it.  The below account was written by one of the Task Force members, Shino Tanikawa, to explain why the report was never released; and below her account are the recommendations submitted by eight of the members on the Task Force that the Mayor refused to accept or release.  

I was appointed to the Fair Student Funding Task force by DOE. The Task Force met regularly for 9 months, deliberated, and produced a report ready to be submitted to the Mayor and the Chancellor. Unfortunately during the final review by the City Hall, the report died a quiet death and was never released. 

It became clear the City Hall’s interest was in using the Task Force recommendation to pressure the State to fully fund the Foundation Aid, not to comprehensively evaluate the formula itself. The report contains many recommendations that would require more investment from both the City and the State. For example, we recommended increasing the Base Allocation to cover a wide range of essential staff, such as social workers and school counselors.

In addition, many advocates wanted to include language around evaluating the formula for its impact on class size but we were told the Fair Student Funding has nothing to do with class size reduction (they are wrong). The Mayor has always been reluctant to acknowledge the real need of our school system for smaller classes.

As you can see, one of our major recommendations was that the DOE should develop a class size reduction plan with specific milestones and timelines, especially as "the current funding allocation from Fair Student Funding incentivizes large class sizes in our schools."  We also found that "Nearly 80% of the principals, from 12 CSDs, who responded to a survey distributed by Task Force members identified large class sizes as a consequence of the FSF formula."

The DOE agreed to develop such a plan once our schools received full funding from the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit, but has reneged on that promise, once again, as it has so often in the past. 

 

Eight of the parent and advocate members of the Task Force, including me,  submitted our own version of the recommendations during the FSF public comment period in April 2021.  

 

I have now shared that report with Class Size Matters. -- Shino Tanikawa

 

Mayor de Blasio and DOE Chancellor say state test results "cast a positive light on NYC's performance" (parody by Fred Smith)

Today the state test scores from last spring were released, revealing that only 20% percent of eligible NYC students in grades 3-8 took the exams, as many were engaged in remote learning and parents had to opt in for their children to take them. Thus the results were more meaningless than ever.  Even so, a 64% of students tested "proficient", a higher percentage than in years past. 

Below is testing expert and critic Fred Smith's rendition of a NYC press release, a parody of the nonsense that regularly comes out of the Mayor's office and DOE in a usual, non-pandemic year.

____

This afternoon, Mayor de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Porter announced the results of the 2021 ELA and Math Tests.   

They cast a positive light on New York City's performance.

The chancellor said that since the Common Core tests began in 2013, this year's results had reached new heights of irrelevance. 

"This shows how good leadership and dedicated teachers and principals can bring us to a new level, despite the challenges we have faced.

I want to thank the mayor for the support he has given us.  Chancellor Carranza, my predecessor, deserves some of the credit too."

The Mayor seemed particularly gratified and attributed this year's success to the seeds planted by his Universal Pre-K program.  

"I would say that anytime we make strides, even if they lack meaning, is a good time." 

Power point charts were made available to the media providing the usual breakdowns.  As expected, New York did better than the Big 4 cities. 

              ~30~