A Tool That Monitors How Long Kids Are In the Bathroom Is Now In 1,000 American Schools (vice.com) 90
e-HallPass, a digital system that students have to use to request to leave their classroom and which takes note of how long they've been away, including to visit the bathroom, has spread into at least a thousand schools around the United States. Motherboard reports: On Monday, a since deleted tweet went viral in which someone claimed that their school was preparing to introduce e-HallPass, and described it as "the program where we track how long, at what time, and how often each child goes to the restroom and store that information on third party servers run by a private for-profit company." Motherboard then identified multiple schools across the U.S. that appear to use the technology by searching the web for instruction manuals, announcements, and similar documents from schools that mentioned the technology. Those results included K-12 schools such as Franklin Regional Middle School, Fargo Public Schools, River City High School, Loyalsock Township School District, and Cabarrus County Schools. Also schools Motherboard found that appear to use e-HallPass include Mehlville High School, Eagle County School District, Hopatcong Borough Schools, and Pope Francis Preparatory School. These schools are spread across the country, with some in California, New York, Virginia, and North Carolina. Eduspire, the company that makes e-HallPass, told trade publication EdSurge in March that 1,000 schools use the system. Brian Tvenstrup, president of Eduspire, told the outlet that the company's biggest obstacle to selling the product "is when a school isn't culturally ready to make these kinds of changes yet."
The system itself works as a piece of software installed on a computer or mobile device. Students request a pass through the software and the teacher then approves it. The tool promises "hall omniscience" with the ability to "always know who has a pass and who doesn't (without asking the student!)," according to the product's website. Admins can then access data collected through the software, and view a live dashboard showing details on all passes. e-HallPass can also stop meet-ups of certain students and limit the amount of passes going to certain locations, the website adds, explicitly mentioning "vandalism and TikTok challenges." Many of the schools Motherboard identified appear to use e-HallPass specifically on Chromebooks, according to student user guides and similar documents hosted on the schools' websites, though it also advertises that it can be used to track students on their personal cell phones.
The system itself works as a piece of software installed on a computer or mobile device. Students request a pass through the software and the teacher then approves it. The tool promises "hall omniscience" with the ability to "always know who has a pass and who doesn't (without asking the student!)," according to the product's website. Admins can then access data collected through the software, and view a live dashboard showing details on all passes. e-HallPass can also stop meet-ups of certain students and limit the amount of passes going to certain locations, the website adds, explicitly mentioning "vandalism and TikTok challenges." Many of the schools Motherboard identified appear to use e-HallPass specifically on Chromebooks, according to student user guides and similar documents hosted on the schools' websites, though it also advertises that it can be used to track students on their personal cell phones.
This is downright creepy (Score:5, Insightful)
Not to mention, what happens if a kid doesn't have a compatible phone? What if they don't want to download this particular app? What if the teacher confiscated their device earlier in the day? This just smacks of a solution in search of a problem.
private for-profit company??? and what is there to (Score:2)
private for-profit company??? and what is there to sell?? that is not some of hipaa violation?
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Re: private for-profit company??? and what is ther (Score:2)
Maybe that's the plan, to get rid of the phones.
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Also drug dealing, smoking, bullying, and sex on school grounds. This has always been an issue with the privacy for quite normal activities like excretion and changing clothes, and the abuse of the privacy is an inevitable consequence. Choosing the right balance of privacy versus safety can be awkward.
It's also going to be racially slanted. Poor, urban schools have less money for sophisticated monitoring, and a great more crime in the rest rooms, especially at the black, inner city schools. As impolitic as
Re: private for-profit company??? and what is ther (Score:3)
If vandalism and graffiti are a problem at your school then make the kids spend time in the morning and afternoon cleaning the building.
the union makes detention cost to much to have (Score:2)
the union makes detention cost to much to have
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Re: private for-profit company??? and what is ther (Score:2)
"Another words" or "in other words"?
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Re:private for-profit company??? and what is there (Score:5, Interesting)
A lot of people misunderstand what HIPAA protects against. HIPAA only applies to covered entities [hhs.gov] such as health care providers and health insurance companies.
If a company, employer, school, etc. asks you health questions and you answer them, then HIPAA does not apply (other laws may apply). Your smart watch or health app on your phone is not covered by HIPAA, even though a medical device provided by a health care provider that gathered the same data would be. Apple, Fitbit, etc. can do whatever they want with the data as long as their privacy policy says they can (otherwise they could get in trouble with the FTC, although that's pretty toothless compared to HIPAA). Most privacy policies include vague language that lets companies do whatever they want (and a lot do). The US is in desperate need of better privacy laws.
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It raises the question ... (Score:1, Flamebait)
Why are any schools feeling a need for this?
TFA says "While the problems they purport to solve are real, " and " e-HallPass can also stop meet-ups of certain students and limit the amount of passes going to certain locations, the website adds, explicitly mentioning “vandalism and TikTok challenges.” "
The clickbait emphasis on "bathroom break" is what is creepy. 1000 schools is less than 1% of the nation.
Maybe they have some real problems with students skipping classes that are far worse than t
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God forbid two non-leftists talk outside the earshot of a leftist teacher.
Sounds paranoid. This only covers time they are supposed to be in class studying. Plenty of time during lunch breaks or after school to plot overturning the school board election.
Re: It raises the question ... (Score:2)
back before kids had cellphones we used to meet up behind the bleachers to discuss collectivism and how to overthrow the class system.
Re: It raises the question ... (Score:2)
In Soviet Russia toilet smokes you
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Drunk-on-their-own-power hall monitors taken to an insane level.
You haff taken more than ze regulation three point two zeconds to poop.
You are in violation!
REEE!!!
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What if they don't have a phone? Or did someone manage to wipe out poverty behind my back?
There are plenty of places where kids may not have a phone because their families can't afford it, and they have a right to an education and such too. And I'm sure they have a
Re: This is downright creepy (Score:2)
Obviously, if you don't have a phone, you won't be allowed to pee. Or maybe it will just happen whenever, lol.
At Work? At School? (Score:5, Insightful)
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"I bet this will reduce the amount of students with good attendance."
I bet the opposite. Rules followers follow the rules. Care to explain a bit more?
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Re: The USA has become... (Score:1)
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A nation of groomers.
You [imgur.com] are [pbs.org] correct [imgur.com], sir/madam/whatever [imgur.com].
My parents taught me to not ask permission (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:My parents taught me to not ask permission (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:My parents taught me to not ask permission (Score:4, Insightful)
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That's between you and the hall pass issuer. If asked, you should indicate you have a hall pass and that's all. And if it's none of their business, why tell them?
Also, "Going to the restroom isn't something you ask permission for" means you walk out instead of shitting yourself. You can ask for permission by asking to use the hall pass. Bathroom or toilet is implied, if you have a level of trust.
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Why are kids going to the toilet during classes?
They are a bit young for prostate problems. More likely vaping?
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We're not all blessed with a magic bladder and bowel that only need to be voided when it's convenient.
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We're not all blessed with a magic bladder and bowel that only need to be voided when it's convenient.
Most mammals have sufficient bowel and bladder control void at lunch & recess.
And do you really believe the school has introduced this policy because of kids leaving class for bowel and bladder purposes? If so, I have a bridge to sell.
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"Most mammals have sufficient bowel and bladder control void at lunch & recess"
Even if "most" implies 90% that's still about 1.5 million high school students in the USA whose need to use a bathroom falls outside your schedule.
And tell me, without telling me, you're ignorant of a normal biological function of pubertal female homo sapiens
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Even if "most" implies 90% that's still about 1.5 million high school students in the USA whose need to use a bathroom falls outside your schedule.
OK, but I don't see the argument. The schools are still letting kids do that, while trying to discourage others from leaving class for different reasons.
Keep in mind it is only a tiny percentage of schools where the problem is so widespread, they are resorting to electronic solutions.
Would I be wrong in guessing these are schools with poor academic outcomes?
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Can I borrow your bladder? Mine has a mind of its own and regularly pisses (no pun intended) off.
Yes I have been to the Urologist...nothing wrong there...yet.
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It is in educators' best interest to ensure they don't flip out and kill people.
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Are you telling me you have NEVER had to poop or pee or vomit at an inconvenient time and could ALWAYS wait an hour or more? If so, good for you. When I was in school it was a rare event, but sometimes that Taco Bell from the night before gave me a 3-5 minute warning that it was coming out.
The average public school in the US has ~500 students. And even if 99% of kids can wait, that means 5 on any given day can't.
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Are you telling me you have NEVER
Don't play dumb. If it was *never*, they'd simply ban kids from leaving class instead of issuing passes.
Perhaps I'm making some wrong assumptions, but it sounds like these schools have a problem with many kids absent from class for less legitimate reasons.
You can't dismiss all that because sometimes it is genuine.
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Most mammals have sufficient bowel and bladder control void at lunch & recess.
I must say, that comes as quite a surprise to me. I thought most mammals didn't even have lunch or recess breaks. I thought that was a strictly human thing.
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LOL right. I'm sure you went to a school where people got up to leave without saying anything to the teacher.
It would be insulting for adults, but 3rd graders need guidance on how to act within a group, and 10th graders would abuse the policy to meet up with friends.
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Your parents told you to act like an entitled cunt who can't hold it in for a short period of time between opportunities to go anyway while someone else is trying to present something to you?
Shit man talk about setup for failure. I'm sure everyone loves you.
You've Already Failed (Score:2, Insightful)
if this is your "solution".
School choice for the non-wealthy has never been so critical.
Re:You've Already Failed (Score:4)
No, the real solution is to stop the constant theft of rights that the schools keep attempting to make. There's been way too much overreach lately. To the point the schools are attempting to police the kids outside of school hours. That needs to stop.
They shouldn't be tracking them like felons either. It's one thing to have a hall monitor. It's something else entirely when you decide to automate the process by attaching a GPS enabled dog collar to children. It's also something worse when you then send that data to a third party. Absolutely none of that was required to "maintain order in the halls." Not now, not ever. I'd be more interested in seeing if the schools in question are getting kickbacks. If so, maybe they can spend that money on a tax break for the parents, who now need to worry about their kid's bathroom history when they get older and try to apply for a job, or college.
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Indeed. Kids in the US do not matter and are routinely mistreated as in this example.
Piss off (Score:1)
When, for how long and with whom I urinate is no one's business.
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Not HIPAA Related (Score:2)
People just don't understand what HIPAA violations are.
HIPAA doesn't apply to everyone or every entity that has healthcare or health related information. It applies only to specific and defined PROVIDERS of healthcare and their business associates.
An IT company tracking how long you spend in the bathroom is not subject to HIPAA.
Even if it were, it's not tracking what you do in the bathroom, only the fact that you went there and how long you spent there. You could be taking a shit, taking a piss, smoking a c
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yurshursmurt *eyeroll*
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Score:1)
Who's profiting... (Score:2)
...would be my first question, because as a teacher, I'd hate this. I formerly taught MS/HS CS, I only ever asked students to let me know that they needed to use the restroom and to be quick (meaning not rushing your' business', but just going straight there and back, not getting a snack etc)
It's already hard enough teaching, adding more crap like this is just a solution looking for a problem. I would bet that this was introduced by non-teachers, probably some admins, but I'm really curious about who's payi
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https://www.ousd.org/Page/16118
Not the right axe to grind. (Score:2)
There are over 300,000 teachers in California. So for 1/390,000 the raises given to teachers last year, they could implement that in a school.
These two expenditures don't collide. They are for very different purposes and might even come from different budgets.
If you're comparing this cost to teacher raises, you can do so for every expense in the entire system. That means it's not special.
For the record, I think it's a dumb initiative. Whatever you think you're preventing using this method, you're just displ
Keep a ... (Score:2)
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that is a privacy violation (Score:1)
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You completely ignored the third party aspect. Knowing where kids are at all times is increasingly important. That's the goal.
Having that data in possession of a for profit business is concerning.
Why are they doing this? If "they" means schools, they are guardians. If ",they" means third party, there is profit to be made as long as a free alternative does not exist.
It's free money to somebody well connected (Score:4, Insightful)
Preparation for the future. (Score:2)
Fast masturbation wins. (Score:1)
I attended one of those schools. (Score:1)
Bathroom usage is PHI (Score:1)
I wonder if they have a SOC 2. As it is PHI, they're going to have to provide a report on what data they have for your kid and who has accessed it. I'm sure they have processes in place to provide that on a regular, costly basis.
Department of tracking (Score:2)
The school must tell students to use their BYO tracking device while forbidding students to use other features of their device.
That suggests the BYO device is always broadcasting its location: If the student in the hallway doesn't appear on a Marauder's Map, the student doesn't have an e-HallPass. Or the student left his BYO device in the class-room.
Students aren't going to take their Chromebooks to the toilet, so the mandate will be to install it on a device the student can use in the toilet!
Re: Department of tracking (Score:2)
> install it on a device the student can use in the toilet! ...a....plunger?
Bathroom in he classroom (Score:2)
It is amazing to much that new schools are not built with a 1-person bathroom in every classroom. Sure, it adds cost but it solves a lot of problems.
It wouldn't be unreasonable to retrofit older schools with this feature as well, start with the high schools.
Re: Bathroom in he classroom (Score:2)
Don't forget a double door mantrap type system to keep the stinks inside the toilet room.
App culture gone too far (Score:1)
Kids find a workaround... (Score:3)
BTW, yeah, creepy as fuck. Maybe they could name it after Jimmy Saville or Prince Andrew?
Ugh (Score:3)
Get them used to being monitored by "authority" 24/7 young eh? NO
$3.25 per student - volume pricing available (Score:1)
F that (Score:2)
Prison creep (Score:2)
The prison-industrial complex is looking for new opportunities. Soon you won't need to be a criminal to go to prison, you just need to go to school.
I know some schools in my district are (Score:2)
implementing this, or just have. I had no idea this was supposed to be one of the selling points. I bet none of the teachers know that either.
Medical Issues (Score:2)
I have a distant relative with diabetes. One of the early indications was him getting disciplined for going to the bathroom to often. Not exactly sure this software will help ...
Clocks? (Score:2)
Or are the corp stealing so much from the schools they cant even afford clocks anymore.
I'm going to the bathroom now (Score:2)
The alternative is I piss on your pants.
Your choice, teacher.
That's it! (Score:2)
No more smokin' in the boys room.
Student ID's (Score:2)
This is dumb. Issue ID cards to each student, then have them clock in and clock out for bathroom use. See, the purpose of School is to train kids to become worker/sheeple.
Opinion (Score:1)