Informed consent for proprietary software used at NZ public schools?
Dave Lane made this Official Information request to Ministry of Education
The request was successful.
From: Dave Lane
Dear Ministry of Education,
Almost all NZ's public school kids are at either a "Google" or "Microsoft" school. Their curriculums are tightly tied to Google Docs or Microsoft Office 365. Most also use the SeeSaw classroom/portfolio system extensively. All of these are foreign corporate proprietary software with most or all student data hosted outside the NZ jurisdiction.
Who at the Ministry reviews & approves the Terms & Conditions of all these proprietary applications? Where are their analyses and guidance for schools and parents published for review? How often are these Ts&Cs revisited and re-analysed, given that all of the software vendors stipulate "these terms can change at any time without notice"?
Who clicks "I ACCEPT" on behalf of each student for each of these proprietary apps? As a parent, I've never been asked to approve the use of any of these applications for my children. Wouldn't this be required by the software proprietors to claim "informed consent"? Doesn't having a non-parent or guardian accepting it on behalf of parents and students constitute a breach of the terms of all these applications?
How does the Ministry fulfil its statutory obligations to public school children whose informed parents quite reasonably reject the Ts&Cs of one or more of these proprietary services as unacceptable impositions on their children's freedom, privacy, and data sovereignty?
What advice have you received on these issues from your legal advisors? Who have you consulted to provide suggestions for less controversial software options and what advice have your received? For example, that you could adopt open source options that could be commercially hosted on behalf of the Ministry onshore in the NZ jurisdiction, where the Ministry can then set the Ts&Cs (similar to how apps like Moodle and Mahara (aka My Portfolio) are hosted currently)?
Yours faithfully,
Dave Lane
From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
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Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga / Ministry of Education
Mātauranga House
33 Bowen St, Wellington
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From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
Dear Dave Lane
Thank you for your request for information below. The Ministry will
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Information Act 1982 (the Act).
The Act allows up to 20 working days for a response, making 21 April 2020
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In the interim, if you have any questions about your request, please email
[1][email address].
Thanks
Enquiries National Team | Ministry of Education | TW
33 Bowen St, Wellington
[2]education.govt.nz | [3]Follow us on Twitter: @EducationGovtNZ
[4]cid:image001.jpg@01D13D76.52897370
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whakarongo, he rōpū ako mātou
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From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
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Dear Dave
Please see attached your OIA extension letter
Thanks
Enquiries National Team | Ministry of Education | TW
33 Bowen St, Wellington
[1]education.govt.nz | [2]Follow us on Twitter: @EducationGovtNZ
[3]cid:image001.jpg@01D13D76.52897370
We get the job done Ka oti i a mātou ngā mahi
We are respectful, we listen, we learn He rōpū manaaki, he rōpū
whakarongo, he rōpū ako mātou
We back ourselves and others to win Ka manawanui ki a mātou, me ētahi ake
kia wikitoria
We work together for maximum impact Ka mahi ngātahi mō te tukinga nui
tonu
Great results are our bottom line Ko ngā huanga tino pai ā mātou whāinga
mutunga
[4]Ministry of Education logo
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From: Enquiries National
Ministry of Education
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1224464 Lane OIA.PDF.pdf
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Dear Dave
Please see attached your OIA Response
Thanks
Enquiries National Team | Ministry of Education | TW
33 Bowen St, Wellington
[1]education.govt.nz | [2]Follow us on Twitter: @EducationGovtNZ
[3]cid:image001.jpg@01D13D76.52897370
We get the job done Ka oti i a mātou ngā mahi
We are respectful, we listen, we learn He rōpū manaaki, he rōpū
whakarongo, he rōpū ako mātou
We back ourselves and others to win Ka manawanui ki a mātou, me ētahi ake
kia wikitoria
We work together for maximum impact Ka mahi ngātahi mō te tukinga nui
tonu
Great results are our bottom line Ko ngā huanga tino pai ā mātou whāinga
mutunga
[4]Ministry of Education logo
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