r/education • u/SteaIthed • 3d ago

School Culture & Policy Is my school allowed to install program-viewing and website blockers on my personal laptop?

This is just a question i have and i would like answers since my school wont give me any. Im currently in the process of purchasing a personal laptop. I asked the school if it was okay for me to handle everything with my laptop. They said this was okay. Now, because its my personal laptop they said it wont be covered under the schools warranty. Which makes sense. But know here comes the confusing part, for me at least. Is my school allowed to put software on my computer without my consent that restricts what i am able to do on it? If i dont use the schools provided devices, or their own network. Do they have the right to make changes to MY personal device?

Reason why im asking is because i plan to use this device after i finish school, and i dont want spyware and restrictions on my own laptop. Especially when trying to install programs ect.

Now i understand this is probably entirely dependent on the schools policy. But i would like a general answer, What most schools do at least.

For your information my school is located in Australia, Queensland, Sunshine Coast

tl;dr Is my school allow to install programs on my personal laptop without my consent?

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u/Vergil_Is_My_Copilot 3d ago

They can probably make it part of the terms of using their network, so yes. Are they not offering you a school laptop to use while you’re there? If that’s an option, just do that and buy a laptop when you graduate.

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u/SteaIthed 3d ago

I would do that, however every single website (including some school resources) Is blocked both on the network and on the device itself, having my own device will give me the freedom to do whatever i please.

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u/Undetered_Usufruct 3d ago

Why not have both?

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u/SteaIthed 2d ago

If i had both i'd be spending more money than i need to.

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u/LaZuzene 2d ago edited 2d ago

How? Does the school require you to pay for a school issued computer? (ETA: Okay, I see you answered that. Unheard of where I taught but also seems reasonable. Also still not sure how much money you’re saving if you’re hot spotting off your phone data to access a non-school internet all day.)

If what you’re trying to access is for school stuff, tell your teacher and they or IT can unblock that site. I ran into that as a teacher with students doing research occasionally, it’s not a big deal, just ask.

If what you’re trying to have “freedom” to access isn’t school-related then wait til you’re home to do that on your personal, private laptop and room. You gotta learn to separate work/school and personal life, especially when it comes to tech.

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u/SteaIthed 2d ago

Alright, I actually never thought about asking them. Thanks for giving me the idea 🙂

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u/alax_12345 2d ago

Just realized you're a student.

You need to read the policies VERY carefully. You will get into trouble for accessing blocked items. If they're blocked wrongly for you, then your school IT department needs to update your permissions. You DO NOT have "freedom" here and bypassing firewall controls is not going to end well.

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u/SteaIthed 2d ago

Got it, I'll read them as soon as I can