UPDATE

Lancaster County School District has suspended the use of Linewize Monitoring Service. Although Linewize-Monitor has been vetted and approved by IMS Global (1EDTECH), a South Carolina Department of Education provided resource for vetting technology products, we have decided to discontinue use of this system until we clarify recent concerns raised by administrators and parents.

Linewize content filtering and classroom management products will remain in use to ensure CIPA compliance.  In the meantime, LCSD and Linewize will work together to provide further clarification regarding the use of the Linewize Monitoring Service.

August 29, 2022

Lancaster County School District is partnering with a new software monitoring company that will add an extra layer of protection for our students and staff. Linewize School Manager is new to LCSD this year and has been pushed out to every school-issued technology device across the district.

Trained staff members at Linewize monitor student activity on school-issued chromebook 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Linewize moderators are trained to look for content that may involve self-harm, depression, grooming, sexual content, bullying, school violence and more in real-time. The company is able to see content in google classroom, on the internet, encrypted apps or any other digital document created on school-issued devices.

If a student types something of concern, the company will receive an alert. The alert is then analyzed by trained professionals at Linewize. If the alert is deemed of importance to the safety of the student, the company will contact the school principal directly. LCSD staff members will then determine the best appropriate action to help the student.

While this new software provides an extra layer of protection, it’s important to note that Linewize is 100% compliant to federal and state-specific laws governing student data privacy.

Parents aren’t required to do anything. Linewize is already being pushed out on all school-issued devices. LCSD and Linewize created a website with information for parents on how to create an online safety hub on your home devices. The site includes articles, videos, courses and more, to ensure you know how to keep your kids safe online. Click this link to check it out: https://lancastercsd.onlinesafetyhub.io/

Click this link to watch a short video about Linewize and how it will protect our students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9iUV2aQzd4

Dr. Jonathan Phipps says “Safety has always been, and always will be, a top priority at Lancaster County School District. Any additional layers of protection are a welcome addition if it means keeping our students and staff safe.”