Amid moratorium, state issues report on use of biometrics in school settings |
On Board Online • September 4, 2023
By Sara Foss
Special Correspondent
A new state report finds that the risks of using facial recognition technology in schools may outweigh the benefits, and districts should exercise caution in implementing it.
The New York State Office of Information Technology Services was charged with writing a report on biometric identifying technology (BIT) in educational settings in January 2021 after the state Legislature enacted a moratorium on purchasing or using BIT in K-12 schools.
That decision was prompted by the use of facial recognition technology in the Lockport City School District, which installed a security system that used 300 digital cameras to scan the faces of people entering school buildings to match with a list of individuals barred from school property.
While "safety concerns could legitimize the use of FRT for school visitors," using that technology on students might not be appropriate, the report states.
Concerns about facial recognition technology detailed in the report include the possibility of data breaches, the toll that surveillance of students and staff might take on school climate and mental health, and the possibility that schools might lack the funding and staff necessary to develop and implement adequate cybersecurity protocols.
Another concern is false positives - when a person is erroneously matched with the stored data of another individual - and false negatives, when an algorithm wrongly rejects an individual.
The report distinguishes between facial recognition technology and non-facial recognition biometric identification technology such as digital fingerprinting. It suggests that non-facial recognition BIT might be less risky than FRT because it's harder to deploy without an individual's knowledge or consent.
State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa will review the report and decide whether to allow biometric identifying technology in public schools. That decision will be made soon, according to the State Education Department.
Stefanie Coyle, deputy director of the educational policy center at the New York Civil Liberties Union, said her organization is pleased with the ITS report.
"They confirmed a lot of what we've been saying for years about the harms of facial recognition technology in schools," Coyle said, adding that the NYCLU is optimistic the state will respond to the report's findings by banning FRT in educational settings. "It's very clear, based on the ITS report, that it's not a good idea to let this technology loose in schools."
In 2020 the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the state Education Department over its decision to approve a facial recognition technology system for use in the Lockport school district. The litigation became moot when former Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law placing a moratorium on biometric identifying technology in New York schools.
Jake Parker, senior director of government relations for the Security Industry Association, said he hopes the Education Commissioner will develop regulations allowing schools to use biometric identifying technology responsibly. Schools are interested in using FRT to screen visitors, not to monitor student activity, he said.
"(The report's) examination of this subject is definitely incomplete," Parker said. "We are hoping the commissioner's recommendations will be more specific."
Parker also said the report relied on outdated information, pointing to its inclusion of research suggesting that false identifications occur at a higher rate for certain demographics. "That's mostly a solved problem," he said. "The newest technologies don't have any kind of differentiation there."
The report states that if FRT is authorized for use in educational settings, schools may need to exercise caution "to ensure that vulnerable populations are not disproportionately impacted, such as people of color, non-binary and transgender people, women, the elderly and children."
Melissa Arnold Lyon, assistant professor of public administration and policy at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany, said larger school districts are more likely to have the capacity to safeguard biometric information. Smaller districts "are going to be much less likely to have the full tech infrastructure to be able to ensure that data are protected."
There are a number of ways schools could use biometric identification technology, if allowed by the state. They include: verifying student attendance, enabling students to pay for lunches using their fingerprints, permitting students and staff to access parts of the school campus that are restricted and allowing students to unlock iPads and laptops.