Hawaii Senate Bill SCR15

Hawaii 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/31/25
• Refer: 2/5/25

Caption

Requesting The Department Of Education To Amend Its Technology Monitoring Policies And Guidelines To Include Monitoring That Blocks Students From Receiving Inappropriate Messages And Accessing Harmful Material.

Impact

The bill emphasizes the importance of safeguarding vulnerable students from various online threats, including cyberbullying, exploitation, and harmful communication. It expresses concern over the inadequacies of current monitoring protocols, which seem to prioritize the Department’s liability and network integrity over the welfare of students. If enacted, it could significantly alter how technology is utilized in educational settings, marking a shift towards a more protective approach to student interactions with digital platforms.

Summary

SCR15, introduced in the Thirty-third Legislature of Hawaii, requests the Department of Education to amend its technology monitoring policies to ensure that students are protected from receiving inappropriate messages and accessing harmful material through school-owned devices. The resolution highlights a pressing need for revisions in the existing "Technology Responsible Use Guidelines," which were last updated in July 2016 and currently do not adequately address the necessity of monitoring for the safety of students, especially those at risk.

Contention

A notable contention surrounding SCR15 involves the balance between student privacy and the need for protection in digital spaces. Critics of increased monitoring policies may argue that heightened surveillance could infringe on students' rights to privacy and could create a learning environment filled with mistrust. Proponents, however, stress that such measures are essential in contemporary education, where the risk of cyber threats is widespread and often devastating to young individuals.

Resolution

The resolution calls for the Department of Education to take proactive measures, specifically tailoring monitoring strategies to effectively block harmful content and messages while focusing particularly on protecting at-risk groups, such as special needs students. It concludes by mandating that certified copies of the resolution be forwarded to key educational leaders to facilitate the proposed amendments.