The Lower Merion School District (Pennsylvania) provided Apple computers for 2300 students to use at home. This allowed students to have the same computers with the same software at home that they used at school.

Each of the computers had a camcorder. The District claims that the camcorders were attached in order to help the District find the computers if they were stolen. The camcorders could be activated by the District’s IT Department, allowing them to see the user of the computer and what is on the monitor.

But the computers could not only see who stole a computer but it allowed the District to spy on students and their families inside their homes. This is a flagrant violation of the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment prevents government (and the public school are part of the government) from committing searches and seizures without probable cause of criminal activity. Placing a camera in a residence in certainly a search. The Fourth Amendment protects people from illegal searches and seizures in many places but it gives its highest level of protection to personal residences.

While the investigation is ongoing and the facts are still not clear apparently either someone in the IT Department or the vice principal at Harriton High School spied on a student in his house. The vice principal called the student in and accused him of dealing in drugs, although apparently it was candy that was seen on the camcorder and not pills. To make the accusation the vice principal had to tell the kid about the cameras. Many of the students and their families did not even know the cameras existed. In any case the student and his family are suing the school district. Two members of the IT Department have been put on leave and the Federal Court has order the school district to disconnect the camcorders.

If the school district really wanted to track down stolen computers it could have installed GPS instead of camcorders. But I’m not sure I want the school district to know every place I go with the lap top.