Lower Merion students, parents worried by spying lawsuit

One ninth-grader said she’s covered up the webcam on her laptop with duct tape, and worries her privacy has been violated.

Harriton High School in the Lower Merion school district has been rocked by a federal lawsuit charging school officials used a webcam on a school-issued laptop to spy on a student at home.

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Students and parents alike are shaken by the lawsuit and the frenzied media coverage it generated yesterday. At an unrelated school meeting last night, Katie McGlade said her son is supposed to start at Harriton next year. She heard about the lawsuit on her way to a curriculum meeting for new parents. She said the school district is fortunate to be able to give students laptops, but she’s shocked by the alleged misuse of technology:

McGlade: It’s just mind-boggling that the district would use this tool in this way, so I have to figure it out, but it’s very concerning.

One ninth-grader said she’s covered up the webcam on her laptop with duct tape, and worries her privacy has been violated.

In a statement yesterday, school officials admitted using webcams in the past to track missing computers, but insisted they never used them to monitor student behavior.