Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Beaumont ISD Implements AI Program to Prevent Violence and Suicide

  • By Yvonne Marquez
  • 10/28/19

Beaumont ISD will implement a new artificial intelligence-based safety management system to monitor student emails and accounts to prevent violence and suicide.

The Texas school district approved a contract with Gaggle, a software company that scans student emails and files stored on school-issued Google or Microsoft accounts. The company looks for instances of bullying and references to drug and alcohol abuse, intentions of violence, sexual content, self-harm, hate speech, pornography and more.

Once the flagged content is detected, a safety expert analyzes the material to determine the severity of the content and then works with the school district to properly address the concern.

Toni McPherson, director of information services and technology for Beaumont Independent School District, told the Beaumont Enterprise, the flagged content “will be blocked from being shared to others and the Gaggle staff will immediately review it and determine the severity. In high-severity situations, the content will be sent to the appropriate district staff to be addressed.”

While Gaggle may be used to prevent suicide or a school tragedy, some advocates are concerned the software violates student privacy and can violate the Family Education Rights Privacy Act (FERPA), reported the Beaumont Enterprise. Gaggle cites it’s compliant with the federal regulation under the “school official” exclusion, meaning the school districts give the company permission to handle student’s information. Parents can also opt out of the program but students will not be allowed to use school-issued technology.

Beaumont is one of about 1,400 schools who uses Gaggle. The software will cost more than $88,000 and is covered by federal funding and not from BISD’s general fund. Gaggle will be phased in at the school district over the next several months.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • North Carolina District Completes New Elementary School

    The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) in Holly Springs, N.C., recently announced that construction on a new elementary school has finished, according to a news release. Rex Road Elementary School measures in at 133,000 square feet and is the fifteenth school that general contractor Balfour Beatty has completed for the district.

  • DFW-Area District Opens New Replacement Middle School

    The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District near Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new replacement middle school campus, according to a news release. The new facility for Wayside Middle School, originally established in 1964, was built on the site of the former district administration building and funded through Bond Proposition A in 2023.

  • University of Rhode Island, Gilbane Partner for Three New Residence Halls

    The University of Rhode Island in Kingston, R.I., recently announced a public-private partnership with construction development firm Gilbane, according to a news release. Gilbane will soon start construction on three new residence halls with a total of 1,100 beds: two with apartment-style suites in northwest campus, and a reconstruction of the Graduate Village Apartments for graduate students.

  • UCNJ Launches $30M Modernization of Physical Education Center

    The Union College of Union County (UCNJ) in Cranford, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $30-million modernization project for its Physical Education Center (PECK), according to a news release. The college partnered with DIGroup Architecture for the project’s design, transitioning the existing 42,000-square-foot structure into a campus hub for student athletics and campus life.