I expect any laptop provided by a school to come with the same privacy rights as the computer use in the classroom...pretty much none, with full logging and monitoring of everything the computer is used for.
Therefore, my instructions to my child, concerning the use of that laptop would be to use it as little as possible and
only for school related things, and assume the privacy is equal to having their teacher standing over their shoulder watching everything they do, including watching what keys they type in as passwords on websites.
And as a precaution, when you are not using that school provided laptop, you will place it inside
this box, to prevent eavesdropping on your private life (via microphone & webcam) when the laptop is not in use.
Furthermore, if you want to do
anything that could be considered
personal use, even something as trivial as looking up local weather info before heading off to school, you are to use your regular computer that was
not provided by the school. (You know, that one provided by your parents, for such purposes.)
In fact, you may use
that computer for your school work, as well,
if it is allowed by your teacher, keeping that school provided laptop stored in
that box the entire time that you are at home.
Children are never too young to learn good computing habits, including good security and privacy protection habits. If they are old enough to understand how to start a web browser, type in a URL, and log in to a website, they are old enough to learn this stuff. I don't believe in keeping kids naively innocent and turning them loose among wolves, completely unprepared.
I would also contact the state school board
in writing via Certified Mail, return receipt requested (cc: local school board, principal of child's school, president of PTA, child's teacher, local Congressmen, editor of local newspaper, TV news reporters, etc.) and ask them what their provisions are for covering the costs of the insurance on this
unwanted, costly laptop, that the responsibility for it is being
forced upon you, considering that every child is entitled to a
free public education, and free doesn't mean $50 for insurance, nor does it mean accepting responsibility for a
costly piece of equipment that could make your child the target of a robbery on the way to/from school.
I would also ask about
what additional security provisions they planned to provide for my child, from home doorstep to school doorstep, to ensure their safety while traveling to/from school, to prevent them from becoming a victim of violence, due to having to transport this unwanted, expensive laptop. And if anything were to happen to your child as a result of having this laptop in their possession, who exactly is going to take full responsibility for it. (
it, referring to
any injury to the
child, not the laptop)
