r/education 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/Training_Record4751 3d ago

Why do you need to use a personal laptop at school? This is asking for trouble. Just use the school device.

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u/OminousOmnipotence 2d ago

Bad move as a school. Neighboring district did BYOD in 2014/15. It was a Google District, so It led to student photo files syncing with the district Google drives.

Became a big police issue, needed the sheriff's office to come wipe all of the child pornography and drug related photos from their Google servers.

As far as I know, most schools will not allow personal devices to connect to district networks anymore, at least in my region.

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u/Training_Record4751 2d ago

The only exception I've heard of is when a kid has a device they are comfortable with for communication that is part of an IEP... but it's a medical device eve. If it does have personal capability.

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u/OminousOmnipotence 2d ago

Same, that and when the district has a closed, "Guest" network. Also, Google has changed in the last ten years, where personal photos no longer sync to system accts.