Eye Spy
By Dylan Xie and Daniel Keum Sep. 23, 2026
The click of keys, the push of a button, the click of a mouse. Every day, students log onto district-issued Chromebooks to write essays, finish assignments or surf the internet. However, few realize that what they type and search can be viewed by an adult within minutes with the help ofAI monitoring software.
Programs such as Gaggle, GoGuardian, Lightspeed and Securly filter inappropriate content and scan student activity for life threatening situations. Together, they monitor millions ofAmerican K-12 students. San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD) uses Securly, which tracks online behavior associated with violence, harm or cyberbullying and alerts designated personnel in five minutes or less. According to the SJUSD handbook, monitoring applies to all school-provided Chromebooks and accounts, even off campus, at home on personal Wi-Fi.
"The practice is tied to the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), a federal law overseen by the Federal Communications Commission. Schools that receive discounts on internet access must use a filter that blocks inappropriate content and protects minors' personal information," SJUSD Director of Technology Services Patrick Scanlan said.
Additionally, what students type is immediately sent to the district and filtered for potentially dangerous content. If deemed necessary, the district office notifies the school immediately and reaches out for a threat assessment with staff and counselors before proceeding. Then, severity of the situation is determined by placing the alert in one of two categories: Safety or Mental Threat. Safety covers potential school threats, while Mental Threat refers to self-harm and depression. Counselors and teachers then intervene to help and assess the situation.
Those concerns made national news when a Seattle Times and Associated Press investigation uncovered a security lapse involving Gaggle. Through a records request to Vancouver Public Schools in Washington, reporters inadvertently received nearly 3,500 unredacted student documents. Anyone with the link had complete access to the sensitive writing without entering the password.
"The students' personal data should not be sent out to other people, as they may be handling personal business on their Chromebooks and that would be a breach of privacy," Freshman Rishith Chennupati said.
Critics also argue that these systems create false positives by misinterpreting research on difficult subjects. According to an August 2025 Lawrence Times article, nine current and former students of Lawrence and Free State high schools in Kansas sued their district over its use of Gaggle. Among them were student journalists who argued that Gaggle violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights.
Locally, the district office has had many incidents of sensitive words being flagged during writing assignments.
"These situations were huge nuisances for the staff and students as each one of them were called in as the tracking system is not able to understand the context behind certain searches," principal Harveen Bal said.
Although the software may have its shortcomings, it provides the district with an efficient tool to monitor hundreds or even thousands of students at a time with the main goal of keeping them safe and fostering a healthy mindset. Nonetheless, the software can raise questions regarding privacy, false alerts and feeling uncomfortable using school issued technology.
About the Contributors
Dylan Xie
Sports Editor
Dylan Xie is a junior at Leland High School and the Sports Page Editor for The Charger Account. He enjoys playing soccer, working out, hanging out with friends and eating food.
Doyun Keum
Staff Writer
Doyun Keum is a freshman at Leland High School who used to live in South Korea who moved to the U.S. in October of 2025. When not hanging out with his friends, he can be found texting on his phone, playing sports, watching movies, or doing homework.
Muqi Tian
Artist
Muqi Tian is a Sophomore at Leland High school, and is interested in writing a food review column for the Charger Account. She is usually found hidden in her house, either baking, drawing, reading or doing otaku activities.
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