Pattonville School Guidelines Target Hacking

The Pattonville School District Board of Education is set to strike a blow at would-be hackers within their student population. The board will vote Tuesday on updated student behavior guidelines including sections on computer hacking and piracy of copyrighted material.

The changes are slated for and the district’s POSITIVE School, Pattonville’s website indicates.

School administrators propose hacking be defined as “unauthorized access or attempted access of electronic devices, services, and other resources with malicious or exploratory intent.”

The district could define piracy as “unauthorized duplication, downloading, sharing or distribution of copyrighted or trademarked media or other intellectual property.” That could range from installing illegal software to simply asking someone for pirated material.

Donette Green, Pattonville’s assistant superintendent for student services said the changes are in anticipation of the district’s upcoming one to one computer distribution in the iLearn program.

Hacking and piracy had been covered by the district’s computer misuse guidelines, but administrators felt they needed to add additional guidelines now that they’re putting laptops into student’s hands.

"We didn't do it because we were having a problem with it," Green said.

A link to the board's agenda can be found here.