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L.A. schools probe charges its hyped, now-defunct AI chatbot misused student data
Independent Los Angeles school district investigators have opened an inquiry into claims that its $6 million AI chatbot — an animated sun named “Ed” celebrated as an unprecedented learning acceleration tool until the company that built it collapsed and the district was forced to pull the plug — put students’ personal information in peril. Investigators with the...
By Mark Keierleber | July 15, 2024
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Whistleblower: L.A. schools’ chatbot misused student data as tech co. crumbled
Just weeks before the implosion of AllHere, an education technology company that had been showered with cash from venture capitalists and featured in glowing profiles by the business press, America’s second-largest school district was warned about problems with AllHere’s product. As the eight-year-old startup rolled out Los Angeles Unified School District’s flashy new AI-driven chatbot...
By Mark Keierleber | July 1, 2024
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L.A. schools investigate data breach as FCC approves $200M cybersecurity pilot
On the same day that millions of sensitive records purportedly stolen from the Los Angeles school district were posted for sale on the dark web, the Federal Communications Commission approved a $200 million pilot program to help K-12 schools and libraries nationwide fight an onslaught of cyberattacks. A Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson confirmed...
By Mark Keierleber | June 18, 2024
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Lawmakers duel with tech execs on social media harms to youth mental health
During a hostile Senate hearing Wednesday that sometimes devolved into bickering, lawmakers from across the political spectrum accused social media companies of failing to protect young people online and pushed rules that would hold Big Tech accountable for youth suicides and child sexual exploitation. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., was the latest...
By Mark Keierleber | February 1, 2024
Studies: Pandemic Aid Lifted Scores, But Not Enough To Make Up for Lost Learning
‘Astonishing’ Absenteeism, Trauma Rates Root of Academic Crisis
Reinventing Report Cards: Reading, Writing, Collaboration and Other Work Skills
Older Immigrant Students Say High School Admission Bettered Their Lives in U.S.
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Federal data shows a drop in campus cops — for now
More than 1 in 10 schools with a regular police presence removed officers from their roles in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a Minneapolis cop, new federal data on campus crime and safety suggest. Nearly 44% of public K-12 schools were staffed with school resource officers at least once a...
By Mark Keierleber | January 30, 2024
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Campus antisemitism, Islamophobia reports prompt ‘huge influx’ of federal civil rights complaints
Amid reports of heightened antisemitism and Islamophobia in schools and colleges since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, a senior Education Department official said the agency has received a “huge, huge influx” of civil rights complaints that have led to a surge in federal investigations. Since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists on Israel...
By Mark Keierleber | January 18, 2024
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ChatGPT is landing kids in the principal’s office, survey finds
Ever since ChatGPT burst onto the scene last year, a heated debate has centered on its potential benefits and pitfalls for students. As educators worry students could use artificial intelligence tools to cheat, a new survey makes clear its impact on young people: They’re getting into trouble. Half of teachers say they know a student...
By Mark Keierleber | September 25, 2023
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Q&A: How ed tech tools track kids online — and why parents should care
As technology becomes more and more ingrained in education — and as students become increasingly concerned about how their personal information is being collected and used — startling new research shows how schools have given for-profit tech companies a massive data portal into young people’s everyday lives. The report, led by researchers at the University of Chicago and...
By Mark Keierleber | September 22, 2023
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New data: School shootings surge to a record high — two years in a row
Despite heightened concerns about campus safety since the pandemic, in many ways America’s public schools are safer today than they were a decade ago, federal campus crime data released Wednesday reveal. Yet in one startling way, they’ve grown exponentially more dangerous: An unprecedented growth in school shootings. There were a record 188 school shootings resulting...
By Mark Keierleber | September 14, 2023
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‘Do not underestimate the ruthlessness’: White House takes on K-12 school cybersecurity threat at first-ever summit
Shortly before First Lady Jill Biden took the podium at the White House Tuesday to champion a new federal initiative to combat K-12 school ransomware attacks, the cyber gang Medusa announced its latest victim on the dark web. Such unrelenting attacks — this time against a Bergen County, New Jersey, district —are what brought the...
By Mark Keierleber | August 10, 2023