if you don't feel like ready watch this video (not made by me)  https://youtu.be/jooeqpnpfMg?si=x0PU7iH-Y_k8oyGX

Ever since GoGuardian was implemented in our school, my privacy has been shattered. It started when I noticed unusual activity on my school-issued Chromebook. It felt eerie, like someone was watching over my shoulder. Then, to my utter dismay, I found out that personal detailed information about me had been accessed and shared without my consent. This is not only a breach of privacy but also of trust.

Many students share my concerns. GoGuardian's surveillance system is supposed to enhance our safety and facilitate learning, yet it has done the opposite by invading our personal space and causing distress. As students, we have the right to privacy, and to learn in an environment that respects our fundamental freedoms.

The Education Technology Ethics Act of 2022 states that student surveillance must be limited to protect privacy, but it seems GoGuardian's practices are not aligned with such regulations. A survey by the Student Privacy Resource Campaign found that 60% of students are worried about how well such monitoring tools protect their privacy.

Moreover, technology experts, including those from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have raised alarms about the overreach in students' digital lives through such software. These voices highlight the critical balance needed between maintaining a safe learning environment and ensuring personal privacy.

The solution? Remove GoGuardian from our schools. Seek alternative methods that both secure our schools and respect our students' privacy. Engage with experts and students alike to find solutions that focus on trust, safety, and innovation without infringing on our personal freedoms.

Let's stand together for our rights. If you believe in protecting student privacy and promoting a respectful learning environment, I urge you to sign this petition. Together, we can make our voices heard and advocate for the necessary changes. Please sign to demand the removal of GoGuardian from our schools.

and i have a draft of a possible legal bill baning go guardian

Mass surveillance in schools is a problem. When you give your teenager a school laptop you think the school is just watching what they do in class.. What you might not know is that the school is also watching what they do at home. GoGuardian is a kind of software that schools use to monitor what students are doing on their laptops. It tracks what websites they visit what their IP address is and what is on their screen all the time. Even when they are not in school. This is a deal. It is not a small problem. It is a sign of a bigger issue. We are letting schools treat students like they are suspects all the time. We are calling it education. The main problem here is simple: schools are watching students all the time without asking their parents if it is okay. This is not right. Students have a right to privacy and schools are not respecting that right. Michigan needs to make some laws to stop this from happening. Schools should not be able to watch students all the time. They should only be able to watch them when they're in school and only when it is necessary. Parents should have to give their permission before schools can monitor their kids. **What is really going on with GoGuardian** Most parents do not really understand what GoGuardian does. It lets teachers see what is on a students screen in time. It keeps track of what websites they visit and stores that information for up to six months. It also tracks where they are when they are online.. It used to be able to access the webcam on their laptop, which is just not right. Schools say they are doing this to keep students safe and to stop bullying.. That is not a good reason to watch students all the time. Keeping students safe does not mean watching what they do at home on their time. It does not mean storing six months of information about what they do.. It definitely does not mean being able to access their webcam. The problem is that students and their families do not really know what GoGuardian can do. When schools give students laptops they often do not explain what the monitoring software does. They just assume that students and their parents will agree to it.. That is not fair. Students are not really giving their permission. They are just being told to accept it if they want to do their schoolwork. **Why this matters in Michigan** Michigan has a lot of students in its schools. Many of these schools use GoGuardian or similar software to monitor students. This means that students over the state are being watched all the time even when they are at home. A high school student in Detroit cannot even look at a website without a teacher watching. A middle school student in Ann Arbor cannot look up information about their health without it being tracked. This kind of surveillance changes how students learn and think. When you know you are being watched you start to censor yourself. You do not ask questions. You do not look at websites. You do not develop the independence and critical thinking that you should be learning in school. Instead you learn to be afraid of being watched and to just do what you are told. The fact that GoGuardian stores much information about what students do online is also a big problem. Who has access to this information? How is it kept safe? What happens to it? Schools often cannot answer these questions. **The point: privacy is a right** The main issue here is simple: privacy is a basic right. Students have a right to privacy like adults do. In fact students need privacy because they are still developing and learning who they are. When schools watch students all the time they are not protecting them. They are violating their right to privacy. Adults would not accept this kind of surveillance in their workplaces. We have laws to protect workers privacy. We have rules about when employers can monitor what employees are doing. We know that people need some space to exist without being watched all the time. Students deserve the respect. The argument that schools own the laptops so they can monitor them is not an one. Schools can monitor laptops when students are in school and on school property. They should not be able to monitor them at home. That is the students space and they should be able to exist without being watched. **What Michigan needs to do** Michigan needs to make some laws to stop this kind of surveillance. Here are some things that these laws should do: 1. **Only allow monitoring during school hours and on school property**. Schools should not be able to watch students when they're at home or after school. 2. **Require parents to give their permission**. This means explaining to parents what the monitoring software does and getting their explicit consent. 3. **Limit how much information is collected and stored**. Schools should not store six months of information about what students do 4. **Stop schools from using features like webcam access**. This is just not right. Should not be allowed. 5. **Require schools to be transparent**. Schools should have to explain what monitoring software they use, what it does and how they keep the information safe. This is not an idea. It is just saying that students deserve some privacy especially in their own homes. **Conclusion** We are at a point where watching students all the time is becoming normal. Parents assume it is happening. Schools assume they have the right to do it. Students assume they have no choice.. This is not right. Every student in Michigan deserves to have some privacy to be able to explore ideas without fear of being watched and to develop into thinkers. GoGuardian and similar software have gone far. They watch students at home store much information and have capabilities that should not exist. Michigan needs to act. State lawmakers need to hear from their constituents that this is not acceptable. Schools need to understand that safety and trust are built differently. Not, through surveillance. Through real relationships and communication. The question is not whether schools should keep students safe. Course they should. The question is whether watching students all the time is the way to do that. It is not. It is time for Michigan to make some laws to protect student privacy and stop monitoring software in schools.