Reason 1,254,991

Tuesday 12 February 2013 - Filed under Uncategorized

Schools systems trying to confiscate the work of students for their own use and profit.

That tri-color macaroni necklace you made with gobs of glue stuck to the side could soon belong to the state of Maryland.
A proposal recently floated by the Prince George’s County Board of Education would give them the copyright to anything created by teachers, students and employees before, during and after school hours.

A child’s project, but also an online app or lesson plan a teacher creates, could be fair game.

According to a draft of the proposal obtained by FoxNews.com, “Works created by employees and/or students specifically for use by the Prince George’s County Public School or a specific school or department within PGCPS, are properties of the Board of Education even if created on the employee’s or student’s time and with use of their materials.”

The draft policy prompted a backlash from teachers and education activists — causing the board to put the policy on hold pending a more thorough legal review.

As written, though, the policy could include anything published on the school’s website, curriculum documents, instructional materials, platforms and software developed for use by the school system, as well as a broad-reaching “other works created for classroom use and instruction” category.

So a app that my kid develops as a result of a class assignment belongs to the school system? Fuck off.

2013-02-12  »  madlibertarianguy