How Secure is 'Securly'?
Nebraskans: ask your Senator to support LB 31 and LB 428 this 2025 session
by Kathy Faucher and Sue Greenwald, M.D.
The two of us testified at the hearing in favor of Senator Conrad’s LB 31. This bill would require schools to be transparent about the data collected by vendors, surveys, or facial recognition cameras. Who collects the data, who can see it, who stores it, and how secure is it.
Essentially every move and every keystroke that a student makes is currently being tracked and gathered. The SEL companies started the concept. Now every online curriculum does it. Securly isn’t the only concerning app, but it is highlighted here as an example. Millions of tax dollars are being spent on the technology to spy on students. The vendors mining the data are free to sell it, as existing privacy laws do not apply to them. The combination of Artificial Intelligence with Ed Tech is removing all boundaries of propriety.
The Nebraska Education Coalition has been fighting in the Legislature for parental rights in education for several years. None of our preferred bills, introduced by Republicans, have gone anywhere.
This year’s attempt at parental rights was introduced by a Lincoln Democrat, Senator Danielle Conrad, who generally aligns with the ACLU. LB 31 is a well-thought-out bill. It seeks transparency for parents, but demands no other specific action by the schools. It is a prescription for informed consent. The left and the right are aligned on this issue because the violation of student privacy in the current education system is undeniable.
At the end of this article are our hearing testimony texts.
During the LB 31 hearing at the Nebraska Capitol, the usual suspects spoke out against transparency: the teacher’s union, the Nebraska School Board Association, and the Superintendents Association. They said it would be hard and time consuming to do, because the truth is, they have no idea what is happening to all that data being collected on students, nor do they want to be forced to find out.
One app was brought up by superintendents that they review positively. It is a tracking app named Securly, which they said tracked students who leave the classroom. One school official said that it was handy because they could tell if a student was taking too many bathroom breaks throughout the day. Another bragged they could prevent rival students from going to the bathroom at the same time.
Our immediate reaction was: are they talking about students or prison gangs?
If schools are akin to a prison environment, why not just use ankle monitors?
We decided to look further into Securly. The more we learned, the more disturbing it appeared.
What is Securly?
From TechCrunch.com
Thanks to the Childrens’ Internet Protection Act, schools in the U.S. that provide internet access to their students must also generally use web filtering systems that block them from accessing obscene or harmful content online.
The law, enacted originally in 2000 and updated in 2011, left school districts’ IT departments scrambling to adapt enterprise solutions that were built for deeper-pocketed corporations, for use in their schools.
According to Securly CEO and founder, Vinay Mahadik, the company wants to give schools, and parents, “plug and play security for kids.”
That sounds harmless enough. However, it didn’t take long for Securly to make the leap into data mining and student tracking. From its website, Securly claims it can also take care of Student Safety, Campus Safety, Student Wellness, Classroom Management, and Data Insights.
We shudder to think how tracking students’ online activity might be construed as “wellness.” We also wonder why anyone would need an assistant principal since this app does everything an on-sight administrator would do.
Securly has made quite a splash in the public education arena. 10 billion activities analyzed. Those “activities” are the students’ movements and keystrokes. Securly also has a “partner” program so school administrators can be rewarded for making referrals. We used to call those kickbacks.
Is the Data Protected?
Some key takeaways from the Securly Privacy Policy are:
“Under FERPA, when Schools contract for Securly Services, Securly functions as a School Official, which has a legitimate educational interest in Students’ education records.”
As a private corporation, Securly is not required by law to follow the student privacy provisions in FERPA. They are saying they will follow the law anyway. That’s a good thing, but possibly unenforceable. The privacy policy further states (emphasis is ours):
By contracting for the Services, Schools provide consent for Securly to collect and use personal information, anonymous information, and aggregate information about Students as a School Official on behalf of the School. Schools are responsible for confirming that they are authorized to consent to the collection and use of this information and to obtain any necessary consents from the Parent or Student.
Parents and Educators who are adult users of the Services consent to collection of their own personal information through their use of the Services.
Here the company is saying that the use of its product implies consent. The school is responsible for obtaining consent from the parents. If your school is using this program, have you given consent? Do you know what is being collected?
When the Services are used, we collect Students' mobile device ID; device name and model; and operating system type, name, and version of School issued devices.
In order to provide our Services and to understand a Student's activity while using our Services, we may automatically collect the following information about a Student through cookies, web beacons, and other technologies: information regarding a Student's personal computing device, browser type, browser language, operating system, Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, and the actions a Student takes while using the Services including while online (such as the web pages viewed or blocked, the length of time a Student visited a website, links clicked, and messages sent or posted).
When Students use the Services on a personal computing device, we may use geolocation information to determine their current location.
The tracking goes home with the computer or mobile device. The private messages are also collected. Even if your school is using but one feature of Securly, say the bathroom app, everything is collected, everything is stored.
If Students use Facebook, X, or other social networking sites, Securly will collect Students’ activity on those sites (“Social Networking Activity”), including posts to Students’ Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ accounts, and other messaging activity for purposes of providing the Services, including, as applicable, for detection of cyber-bullying or self harm protection. Securly will collect Students’ Social Networking Activity even if Students have chosen not to make that activity public. We store Students’ Social Networking Activity with other information that we collect from Students.
In the modern age, there is no such thing as secure storage of personal information. Data breaches happen every day.
But wait, there’s more!
Artificial Intelligence is a game changer when it comes to Ed Tech. Young human brains will have zero defense against being manipulated by AI. Securly has come out with its own AI product called Discern.
Welcome to Discern: a revolutionary Al that generates K-12 data for SEL, student interests, school climate, and more based on students’ online activities. With Discern, you can:
Eliminate time- and labor-intensive student surveys
Automate data collection and analysis
Personalize your student action plans in an instant
Make the most of your school’s data and simplify your analysis district-wide with K-12’s most powerful AI – no matter your resources.
Watch this short video please. It shows administrators how to access an individual student profile in their school. Also, how to access the aggregate profiles of other schools in the network.
While we were at the LB 31 hearing, we also testified in favor of Senator Murman’s LB 428. This bill requires parents to be notified before surveys are given to students in the schools. Discern would make this bill obsolete. If every bit of data is collected on every child, there is no need to ask their opinion with a survey.
Have you ever considered why Mark Zuckerberg started sucking up to Donald Trump before the 2024 election took place? Zuck has all our data. One could argue there is no need for an election if everyone’s social media is collated. The outcome is known.
Is there a Department of Defense Connection?
Possibly. Securly is promoted by a group called International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Among other things, ISTE are the founders of Digital Citizenship, an advocacy group promoting the censorship of “misinformation” in schools. Read more about them HERE and HERE.
The ISTE is now part of the Robin Merger Corporation, along with ASCD.
“In early 2023, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) merged in a strategic pairing that brings together ASCD’s experience in research-based pedagogy with ISTE’s expertise in innovation and technology. Together, ISTE + ASCD seeks to (re)design the future of education.”
When the ASCD says they have “experience in research-based pedagogy,” they mean critical race theory. From influencewatch.org:
Through its publications and conferences, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development advocates for policies and education strategies informed by identity politics and aligned with critical race theory. 4 5
The Robin Merger Corp. receives government grants from the US Department of Defense to the tune of 28% of its budget.
Addendum: Lawsuits Have Begun
There are California parents suing Securly for unauthorized data mining. This could and should happen in Nebraska as well. The complaint is detailed with charts and data flow information. If you have time, you should read it.
As Promised, our testimony in favor of LB 31
LB31 Student Surveillance by Kathy Faucher
In my professional life I’m an AML officer and financial crimes analyst, but I’m before you as to give my personal statements as a parent and grandparent.
LB31 is a long overdue bill. I agree with Senator Conrad and her concerns over surveillance subjecting students to violations of privacy and civil rights. In addition, I see these tools as number 1 adding burden to the cost of education, and number 2 a threat to our children’s safety and to homeland security. And here’s why.
In the news recently, the education vendor Powerschool had a cyber-attack, affecting schools in Nebraska and nationwide. Data stolen of current and previous students includes student names, addresses, SSNs, and medical and grade information.
In a discussion I had last year with FBI counterintelligence agents, they briefed us on the most prevalent threats to US citizens today – theft of sensitive information through infiltration and espionage, and social emotional manipulation of Americans.
What does this have to do with our schools and student data? I don’t have time here in a just a few minutes to discuss all the details, but I would be happy to connect you with federal law enforcement if you have an interest in learning more. I will share with you briefly what was shared with me by federal agents. What is known as the Big 3 are the countries that present the biggest threat to our homeland security - Iran, China and Russia. They work together to not only evade US sanctions, but to steal our data. As it relates to schools, let’s say for example a bad foreign actor hacks into records on high school students including survey data. Iran now not only has your teenager’s PII data, but her academic performance as well as her behavioral profile. This teen then goes out into the workforce. One of the most prevalent scams that’s on the FBI radar right now is foreign adversaries contacting people through LinkedIn pretending to be an employer with a job opportunity. These bad actors set up a “job interview” via Zoom and then ask the victim for all kind of information about their current employer, job duties, or even a university they work at.
I also want to point out that collection of survey data occurs in all types of formats now in schools. As an example, Amplify Math is a widely used digital-based curriculum. I watched a demo of this product on Youtube and at the beginning of each lesson, the students select a mood face to describe how they are feeling and then they are able to input text about their personal feelings. This survey data is captured by Amplify and fed to the school to aggregate and include in analysis of each student.
In closing, In Section 1, subsection 2 of LB31, I would add the word “behavioral” to the sentence that reads “under the guise of advancing security or efficiency goals,” Because a lot of this data being collected by schools is presented to parents as an attempt to address behavioral challenges and increase student success through surveying students and recording their thoughts, moods and inner feelings – this is highly sensitive data, and parents have the right to know what’s going on in the classroom to decide if this school is right for their families.
LB 31 Sue Greenwald, M.D.
I am representing Nebraska Education Coalition, previously known as Protect Nebraska Children. The fact that my group has this bill as our number one priority, and it was introduced by Senator Conrad, who has never agreed with us on anything, should tell you that surveillance and data mining of school children is a universal concern for parents, and not a political one.
We are excited that this bill codifies parental rights. Since 2005, the Ninth Circuit Court set a precedent saying that children belong to the state once they enter the school. That precedent still stands for states who do not supersede it with a statement of Parental Rights. To date, Nebraska has not explicitly done that. If nothing else, paragraph 1 (f) needs to pass.
The remainder of the bill forces transparency regarding the data mining and physical and digital surveillance of students in both private and public schools. The education lobby will be against this level of accountability. They will cry about how it is difficult to implement. We don’t care.
Students are being acclimated to constant physical and digital surveillance, which is not how a free society should raise it's young. The Ed Tech explosion has led to every new tech idea wanting a piece of the tax-funded education pie. Every app from social emotional learning, to math, social studies and language arts, to mental health apps, even the internet browser, is collecting data on school children. If it happens on a computer, it is being gathered. If you sync to your phone, they might be reading your texts.
Schools WANT the federal and NGO grant money that comes with these apps. In essence they are selling access to the students. For some of the grantors, they wish to influence the students to their agenda. For some it is to sell the data they can mine. For most of them it is both. Somehow the school districts always find themselves on the hook for millions of tax dollars anyway. There are no federal or state laws protecting student’s private thoughts from being gathered, sold or weaponized.
Third parties do surveys of school children, asking very personal and leading questions. The surveys at least tell you they are collecting data; the rest just do it. Facial recognition cameras can track students within the school, and their personal Chromebooks can track them outside the school. Some of these apps are useful, most are overkill. All are expensive. Google has a child friendly dashboard called Symbaloo, offered free for grade schools. Besides the constant flashing ads for junk food, the dashboard has a link to Pornhub. Do you think Google isn’t profiting?
Kearney schools received a 20-thousand-dollar grant from an NGO called News Literacy Project which teaches kids that only certain news outlets are reliable; the news outlets which funded the grant.
Social Emotional Learning programs, which were required if you wanted to receive Covid funds, were the first to collect data with every keystroke of the Chromebook. The are the first to include artificial intelligence to “interact” with your child. The apps now claim to be a best friend that you can tell your deepest secrets to. A chat-bot buddy that doesn’t keep secrets.
An online History curriculum uses AI to “customize” its lessons. How could a curriculum director possibly monitor that?
School based Mental Health care is a new trend. “Multi-Tiered Systems of Support,” rolling out in many Nebraska schools, begins with a mental health evaluation of every single student. That data is unprotected.
If an Ed Tech company isn't being transparent about the use of student data, then they should not be in our schools. The onus is on those companies to prove they are secure. The dirty secret is, they are there for the data. It has been the Wild West in the world of Ed Tech and unfettered data mining. Now, with artificial intelligence as part of the equation, it is like the Wild West on the Moon. Nobody knows where we go from here. In our opinion, books and paper are the only way to stop the digital exploitation of school children.
1. https://forwardnebraska.substack.com/p/parental-rights-matter
2. https://forwardnebraska.substack.com/p/googles-symbaloo-the-hard-porn-gateway
3. https://forwardnebraska.substack.com/p/artificial-intelligence-meets-social
5. https://forwardnebraska.substack.com/p/what-is-multi-tiered-system-of-support