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Friday, June 30, 2017

Student Data Deletion Day - Wouldn't That Be Great + Legislature to Pass Budget Today - Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Student Data Deletion Day - Wouldn't That Be Great:

Student Data Deletion Day - Wouldn't That Be Great

Image result for Deleting data animated gif


From Education Week:

Bradley Shear is a lawyer who focuses on digital privacy and social media. 
He's also the father of two elementary-aged children who attend the public schools in Maryland's Montgomery County. 

A little over a year ago, Shear says, the focus of his professional life became an intensely personal concern, as well.

"I got a phone call from my son's teacher, who said he had performed an internet search for inappropriate content on a school-issued Chromebook," Shear said in an interview. "It got me thinking about all the data being collected about kids, and whether it will ever be deleted.
From Shear's blog, Shear on Social Media Law:

Every time our kids may be admonished for talking out of turn or texting in class they may receive a permanent demerit in Class Dojo.  In the near future, classrooms may be filled with cameras and other tracking technologies that also analyze our kids every interaction with their teachers and class mates. This is not some type of crazy prediction; in China, this Orwellian future is already a reality.

Multiple companies in the educational technology space have intentionally misled students, parents, teachers, administrators, and lawmakers about how they are using the personal data they are collecting about our kids in school. For example, Google was caught intentionally scanning student emails for advertising and other troubling purposes despite prior promises it was not.  ConnectEDU tried to sell personal student data for profit when it went bankrupt despite promising not to do so.* Edmodo, another educational technology company, was recently caught surreptitiously tracking students online to monetize their web surfing habits despite promises to the contrary.

As a parent and privacy advocate, I have come to the realization that more 
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Student Data Deletion Day - Wouldn't That Be Great:





Legislature to Pass Budget Today

 I was actually going to give you all kinds of links and updates but here's all you really need to know - the Dems caved, schools will not be fully-funded and property-rich areas will pay for most of the increases. 


Schools will get $7.3B more over the next four years.  This is not enough and is likely to not pass judicial muster for fully funding schools.  After this budget is passed, the Supreme Court will review the part that addresses McCleary and allow the plaintiffs to give their thoughts.  Any ruling on this issue would probably come at the end of the summer.

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Robert Cruinkshank
Last year, McCleary plaintiffs said $5.6 billion needed just for next school year. $7.3b over 4 years won't cut it 

- Property taxes will go up in Seattle/King County - by a lot. 
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Joe O'Sullivan
Rough numbers, Seattle will see $440/yr increase in property taxes for average house, Ranker says
-There will be a cap on the per dollar amount that local levies can ask for.

From Representative Zack Hutchins:
Initiative 1351
Staffing enrichments provided in the prototypical funding formula under Initiative 1351 are recodified in a different chapter of the RCWs. If additional staffing units are funded in future operating budgets, those units will then become a part of basic education.

Accountability
By 2019-20, school districts must provide separate accounting of state and local revenues and expenditures data. The State Auditor must conduct regular financial audits to ensure districts are using local revenues in compliance with this act. 

Categorical programs
·         Career and Technical Education and Skills Center Programs’ class sizes reduced
·         Highly Capable Program allocation increased from 2.314 to 5 percent of a district’s enrollment
·         Additional Learning Assistance Program allocation for high poverty schools
·         Special Education allocation increased from 12.7 to 13.5 percent of a district’s enrollment
·         Increased Transitional Bilingual Program instruction in middle and high schools by two hours

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Joe O'Sullivan
Another tax change in deal: B&O tax rate for all manufacturing comes down to Boeing's preferential rate, Ranker says. 

Because much of the McCleary plan doesn't kick in for some time, Billig said lawmakers can tweak things if problems w/ plan.

On the public not being able to weigh in or even see the real actual budget in a timely manner:

Melissa Santos
 Lawmakers June Robinson and Dan Kristiansen are telling me public has had time to vet much of budget through past proposals

Tim Eyman
Mega-victories on the final budget deal - what's NOT in it is our biggest success
No income tax. No new capital gains tax.  No new carbon tax.  No increases in business taxes.