We have been hearing from parents across New Hampshire who are concerned about the recent revelation that Google has been spying on students. We encourage parents to contact their district superintendent immediately and ask how they are going to address this problem. It’s also important to request that administrators contact ALL parents in the district so everyone is fully informed. Always copy your local school board members on correspondence.

Attending a local school board meeting and addressing your concerns during public comments is another way to approach the subject.

We are going to post a recent e-mail sent to on New Hampshire Superintendent. We thought it would help other parents. We were given permission to share it but have removed the names of the individuals for their privacy.

Hi ****,

I read a couple of articles about Google getting caught collecting and data mining children’s personal information. I have included links to those articles below. Can you please tell me how *** is dealing with this and protecting our kids since almost ALL of the students have Google accounts? My 2nd and 4th Graders recently told me that they each are writing a story about themselves in their Google documents. Red flags went up as soon as I heard this. I had to tell them to NOT put their DOB or address in there because it’s personal information. They were confused because they often talk about when their birthdays are and where they live with other kids. I don’t understand why they can’t write their stories on paper, especially such stories with personal information in them. Why does it have to be on the internet?

http://www.alternet.org/education/google-spying-40-million-k-12-students-privacy-advocates-call-federal-sanctions#.VmdNac8JHPY.facebook

https://www.eff.org/press/releases/google-deceptively-tracks-students-internet-browsing-eff-says-complaint-federal-trade

Thank you,