Horry County Schools are introducing a comprehensive digital safety program that will continuously monitor student activity on school-issued devices and any personal devices connected to the school wifi. The Linewize system will scan for alarming language or phrases around the clock and alert district officials immediately to help prevent threats, bullying, or inappropriate searches.
District safety chief Mike Frederick called the technology a game changer, saying it dramatically shortens investigative timelines. “It saves us a ton of time on the investigative side,” he explained. “Versus the old so and so said this and we’re getting third and fourth hand reports. Now, we’ve got the actual search screen that was entered on the device in real time, and it can be notified and pushed to us immediately.”
Frederick emphasized that personal data remains protected. “We don’t look up what recipes people are trading or football information,” he said. “The triggers are very specific and very obvious. Weapons searches, references to attacks to a particular person, references to drugs and alcohol. Things that are harmful to students. The triggers on the screens are not aimed at anything else.”
In addition to monitoring, the district is upgrading security cameras. The rollout is complete at all high schools and is about halfway finished at middle schools.
Context and implications:
– The program is designed to enable faster threat detection and response by providing real-time visibility into searches conducted on school devices and connected devices.
– The district asserts strong privacy safeguards, limiting monitoring to clearly defined safety-related triggers.
– Ongoing investments in surveillance infrastructure suggest a broader push toward heightened campus safety.
Summary:
Horry County Schools are expanding safety measures by implementing around-the-clock monitoring of school devices and connected personal devices, backed by real-time alerts, strict trigger rules, and a pace of camera upgrades across campuses. The aim is to improve prevention and response to threats while protecting student privacy according to district officials.
Additional notes:
– If parents or students have concerns, they may want to review district privacy policies and the specific triggers used by the monitoring system.
– This approach aligns with nationwide safety trends in schools, balancing proactive protection with clear safeguards to minimize exposure of non-safety-related information.