ROBBINS et al v. LOWER MERION SCHOOL DISTRICT et al

Filing 85

MOTION for Leave to File Supplemental Declaration filed by LOWER MERION SCHOOL DISTRICT, CHRISTOPHER W. MCGINLEY, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE LOWER MERION SCHOOL DISTRICT.Memorandum, Declaration, Certificate of Service. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A)(IGOE, WILLIAM)

ROBBINS et al v. LOWER MERION SCHOOL DISTRICT et al

Doc. 85 Att. 1

EXHIBIT A

Dockets.Justia.com

IN T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S D I S T R I C T C O U R T F O R T H E E A S T E R N D I S T R I C T O F PENNSYLVANIA BL AKE J. ROBBINS, et a t , Plaintiffs,
v.

Civil Action No. 10-665 Hon. Jan E. DuBois

L O W E R MERION S C H O O L DISTRICT, e t a!., Defendants.

D E C L A R A T I O N O F DAVID A. E B B Y I, David A. Ebby, an adult resident o f Pennsylvania, state as follows: . ]. I am President o f the Board o f School Directors o f the Lower Merion

School District (the "District"), and have served in that capacity since December 2009. I was elected to the Board in December 2007. B y way o f background, I am a partner in the law fIrm Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. 2. The District learned o f this lawsuit and its allegations concerning the

D i s t r i c t ' s use o f the TheftTrack feature o f t h e LANrev computer management software on February 18. 2010. 3. Promptly after learning o f the complaint on the morning o f February 18,

2010, the District discontinued its use o f TheftTrack. 4. The next day, the Board appointed Ballard Spahr LLP as special counsel

to conduct an independent investigation o f the District's use o f TheftTrack for laptops issued to students ("Student Laptops"). Consistent with its authority granted b y the Board, Ballard Spahr engaged L-3 Services, Inc., a computer forensic consulting firm, to assist with its investigation.

5.

O n February 22 and 2 3 , 2 0 1 0 , L-3 powered down and took physical

custody o f the servers through which LANrev was administered. The District has not used LANrev (whether for its TheftTrack feature o r any o f its other computer management functions) s i n c e then and will not use LANrev again. 6. Also immediately after the lawsuit was filed, the District undertook a

review o f its policies and regulations relating to its One-to-One Laptop Initiative. Consistent with agreed-upon terms o f the C o u r t ' s Order dated May 1 4 , 2 0 1 0 , the District will adopt new policies and regulations by September 1 , 2 0 1 0 , before the 2010-2011 school year begins. 7. To assist with this review and the development o f new policies and

regulations, the District engaged SunGard, a technology services firm with expertise i n privacy issues. 8. Over the last several months, the B o a r d ' s Policy Committee, in

consultation with SunGard and the District's Technology C o u n c i l - which the District recently expanded and which consists o f teachers, parents, students, community members, and administrators - developed a series o f new and revised policies and an expanded plan for i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y governance. 9. The new and revised draft policies and administrative regulations

currently under consideration for adoption next month include: (a) (b) (c)
Cd)

LMSD Policy N o . 8 : One to One Responsibility Tree; LMSD Policy No. 134: L M S D · N E T a n d District-Issued Laptops: Student Use, Rights a n d Responsibilities; LMSD Administrative Regulation No. 134: L M S D - N E T a n d District-Issued Laptops: Studem Use, Rights a n d Responsibilities; LMSD Administrative Regulation No. 224: Care o f School Property;

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(e)

LMSD Policy No. 390: Employee La p to p Security Procedures a n d Training; LMSD Administrative Regulation No. 390: Employee Laptop S e c u r i t y P r o c e d u r e s a n d Training; a n d L M S D Policy No. 893: Remote Access, Monitoring a n d Tracking.

(f)

(g) 10.

The full Board reviewed these draft policies and administrative regulations

a t its meeting on July 1 9 , 2 0 1 0 , and published them on the D i s t r i c t ' s website the next day. They a r e a v a i l a b l e a t h t t p : / / w w w . l m s d . o r g / s e c t i o n s / l a p t o p s / d e f a u l t . p h p ? t = p a g e s & p = l a p t o p s d o c s , and copies are attached hereto at Tabs 1-7. 11. Proposed LMSD Policy N o . 8 delineates the specific responsibilities o f

teachers and administrators, principals and assistant principals, the Supervisor o f Instructional T e c h n o l o g y , the D i r e c t o r o f I n f o r m a t i o n S y s t e m s , a n d I n f o r m a t i o n S y s t e m s p e r s o n n e l w i t h r e s p e c t t o the D i s t r i c t ' s O n e - t o - O n e p r o g r a m . 12. Proposed L M S D Policy No. 134 is a revision o f a policy that previously

governed o n l y the acceptable use of the D i s t r i c t ' s computer network; as revised, i t specifically g o v e r n s s t u d e n t u s e o f , a n d r i g h t s a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s w i t h r e s p e c t to, S t u d e n t L a p t o p s . A m o n g other things, proposed L M S D Policy No. 134 sets forth "Special Rules for District-Issued L a p t o p s , " i n c l u d i n g that: (a) at the outset o f e a c h school year, the Superintendent shall issue formal written notification to District parents and guardians c o n t a i n i n g i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e O n e - t o - O n e p r o g r a m and h o w i t works; e a c h s t u d e n t a n d the s t u d e n t ' s p a r e n t o r g u a r d i a n m u s t s i g n a n agreement for Student Laptop use; D i s t r i c t t e c h n i c i a n s m a y r e m o t e l y a c c e s s S t u d e n t L a p t o p s o n l y for troubleshooting purposes and o n l y i f (i) the s t u d e n t ' s permission is d o c u m e n t e d b e f o r e t h e S t u d e n t L a p t o p is r e m o t e l y a c c e s s e d , a n d (ii) a permanent record o f the time, date, and duration o f the access is l o g g e d ;

(b)

(c)

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(d)

District employees may not look at or review the student's files stored on a Student Laptop except in specifically enumerated circumstances; and --- .... ..
~---_.,~

v···.·

(e)

the District shall conduct training sessions for students and orientation sessions for parents and guardians.

13.

Proposed Administrative Regulation 134 provides, among other things: (a) a specific procedure for reporting Student Laptops missing o r stolen (during school hours, the student must report a missing or stolen laptop to the Assistant Principal in his o r her school either i n . person, by telephone, o r b y e - m a i l ; after school hours, the s t u d e n t may report the missing laptop to a particular telephone number o r e-mail address); procedures for accommodating parents, guardians, and students who decline to sign the agreement for Student Laptop use; requirements for Student Laptop insurance payments and the use o f Student Laptops for which required insurance payments are not" made; and forms o f an Agreement for Use o f Laptop - for Use On or O f f Campus), an Agreement for Use o f Laptop - On Campus Only; a letter to parents and guardians providing specific information about the One-to-One Laptop Initiative, Best Practice Guidelines for Use o f Student Laptops, and a Remote File Access Consent Form.

(b)

(c)

Cd)

14.

Proposed LMSD Administrative Regulation No. 224, which governs the

consequences o f loss o f and damages to school property, has been revised to refer to the specific r u l e s for S t u d e n t L a p t o p s . 15. Proposed LMSD Policy No. 390 requires: (i) the establishment and

enforcement o f procedures for District personnel covering responsibilities o f District personnel, with respect to Student Laptops, issues concerning remote access and laptop tracking, privacy o f student information, and forensics and laptop searches; and (ii) training for Infonnation Systems personnel, administrative employees,principals and assistant principals, and teachers to ensure awareness o f all policies and procedures concerning the One-to-One Laptop Initiative. Proposed

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Administrative Regulation No. 390, which will implement Policy No. 390, sets forth detailed p r o c e d u r e s w i t h r e s p e c t to S t u d e n t L a p t o p s e c u r i t y a n d d e t a i l e d r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r t h e r e q u i r e d training programs. 16. P r o p o s e d L M S D Policy No. 893 governs r e m o t e access, monitoring, and

t r a c k i n g o f s t u d e n t l a p t o p s . I t p r o v i d e s t h a t the D i s t r i c t m a y r e m o t e l y a c c e s s S t u d e n t L a p t o p s i n two situations: (i) to address a technical problem, provided that t h e student gives permission and the r e m o t e access is permanently logged; and (ii) when a s t u d e n t o r parent o r guardian files a written report that a S t u d e n t Laptop as been lost o r stolen. T h e proposed policy explicitly states t h a t " [ a ) t n o t i m e will the L a p t o p c a m e r a b e activated r e m o t e l y n o r will s c r e e n s h o t s , audio, v i d e o , o r o n - s c r e e n t e x t be r e m o t e l y m o n i t o r e d . " 17. P r o p o s e d L\t1SD Policy No. 893 also governs r e v i e w o f student files, and

specifically describes the limited circumstances in which the District m a y review student files contained o n S t u d e n t Laptops. 18. T h e B o a r d anticipates that it will a d o p t final versions o f t h e proposed and

r e v i s e d p o l i c i e s a n d r e g u l a t i o n s d e s c r i b e d h e r e i n - a f t e r s e v e r a l w e e k s o f f u r t h e r r e v i e w - a t its m e e t i n g o n A u g u s t 16, 2010.

r d e c l a r e u n d e r p e n a l t y o f p e r j u r y u n d e r t h e l a w s of t h e U n i t e d S t
f o r e g o i n g is t r u e a n d c o r r e c t .

E x e c u t e d o n this 27 1h d a y o f J u l y 2010

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