p2pnet - rss feed: The Kutztown 13
p2pnet.net News:- “They’re being called the Kutztown 13 - a group of high schoolers charged with felonies for bypassing security with school-issued laptops, downloading forbidden Internet goodies and using monitoring software to spy on district administrators.”
That’s the intro to a Washington Post story which goes on, “”The students, their families and outraged supporters say authorities are overreacting, punishing the kids not for any heinous behavior - no malicious acts are alleged - but rather because they outsmarted the district’s technology workers.”
But, “The Kutztown Area School District begs to differ,” states the Post. “It says it reported the students to police only after detentions, suspensions and other punishments failed to deter them from breaking school rules governing computer usage. In Pennsylvania alone, more than a dozen school districts have reported student misuse of computers to police, and in some cases students have been expelled, according to Jeffrey Tucker, a lawyer for the district.”
This looks like a straight Kids v The Authorities tale. But in the background is Apple Computer, one of the major firms whose relentless school marketing schemes end up with students using one, and only one, product, whether they want to or not. As a post on the students’ CutUsaBreak protest site sums it up:
“The story began with the planned implementation of Kutztown’s One to One Computer Initiative. This program would make it mandatory for ~600 high school students to carry and use an Apple laptop computer in order to participate in the education process at their high school.”
“Mandatory” to use Apple computers.
How did it all come about? Here’s what the kids say on their web site >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The following historical perspective is a result of meetings and interviews with administrators and students. There continues to be considerable student participation in all aspects of this website. If any reader wishes to point out any factual errors, please send an email to freedom2pushback@yahoo.com.
The story began with the planned implementation of Kutztown’s One to One Computer Initiative. This program would make it mandatory for ~600 high school students to carry and use an Apple laptop computer in order to participate in the education process at their high school.
At a school board meeting ~ a year ago, opponents of the high school’s Computer Initiative predicted that the administration would not be able to control the student’s access to inappropriate internet sites. The administration promised that they had the technology and would be competent and capable of protecting the students from these dangers. The administration confidently moved the program forward.
In hindsight it seems obvious that putting 600 laptops in the hands of kids would put quite a strain on the disciplinary system. The administration then chose this year to try out a new and unproven disciplinarian.
With the help of Apple engineers and a select group of students who were invited to join the Apple Corp, a master laptop configuration was rolled out to all 600 laptops. This configuration was to accomplish several things. It would allow the computer department to monitor student activity and it limited access to the network and internet. This configuration was protected by an administrative password and, as our administration discovered, the laptop could be easily reconfigured by curious students when the password was not secured.
The password 50trexler, was printed on the back of each computer. 50 Trexler is part of the schools address. At least one student figured it out and passed it along until ~ 80 – 100 of the students had access to it. One of the students learned how to merge the users in a way that gave him administrative access without the need for the password. Another learned that almost any blocked program could be run as a protocol helper through the internet browser.
Good students are curious in their areas of interest and the students learned how to reconfigure their laptops. They learned how to download programs and music from the internet. They learned how to download programs that allowed them to chat with their friends. They learned a lot. And, a few kids gained access to inappropriate imagery.
Now all along the computer department was monitoring for these infractions and dozens of students were reprimanded and punished for their curiosity. Detentions and in-school suspensions were handed to kids by their homeroom teachers, often with no face-to-face with the disciplinarians. This was hardly a deterrent, though, as the kids were able to take their laptops and play video games during their “punishment.”
And it was predictable. Other school districts faced similar problems. Angela Haupt reporting for the Reading Eagle on September 21, 2004 wrote about the situation at a high school in Niagra Falls. “Almost everyone in my school downloaded games like Snood, or music videos, and easy instant messengers like Trillian,” said Steffany. “The school put up a block system, but a lot of kids found ways to get past the restricted sites. That is why some teachers frown upon laptops in class as being distracting.”
Unfortunately our program did not allow for the temporary suspension of computer privileges. Some kids who had trouble resisting temptation tried to turn in their laptops and were forced by the administration to take them back. And the administration still seems to prefer the option of felony charges, and intimidation over the simple withdrawal of computer privileges.
Some laptops were temporarily confiscated for long enough to have them cleansed and returned to their original configuration with a new password. Yet the laptops were still not secure. On several occasions the laptops were returned with the old password still intact. And then the kids learned how to turn off and or limit the administration’s ability to spy on what they were doing on their laptops.
At this point in the middle of the year many of the laptops could still be reconfigured with the old “public” password. For some students the computer department had changed their password and these kids were no longer able to control their laptops like their friends did. This set up a competitive situation where the kids who no longer had access to the password were motivated by the circumstances to find the new password. And the new password was not secure either.
The kids deduced, that in order for their laptop to recognize a password, it must be stored on their laptop. The password file was quickly discovered. Almost all passwords are encrypted. And, it didn’t take long for them to find a program on the internet that would interpret the password.
The administration was embarrassed and they would not admit that their failure to secure the passwords was the root cause of most of these problems. Was it a bad batch of kids? They had threatened and punished some of the children who had curiously continued to learn and explore. But obviously they hadn’t used a big enough stick. They would have to bring in the Police Department, the District Attorney, and involve the courts. They would have order!
Dozens of children were brought to the office for questioning. Some were threatened with felony charges if they did not tell all. At no time were they informed that their answers might be used against them in a court of law. They couldn’t know that some of them were to be dragged under the bus as examples in order to intimidate the rest of the children. If all the children who had the use of the passwords were charged it might include the children of teachers and administrators.
And the public outcry might jeopardize the whole program.
In a slip-up to this reporter it was revealed that 13 kids had been targeted. The administration explained to some kids and parents that the downloading of inappropriate imagery was the equivalent of “vandalizing a schoolroom” or “tearing pages out of a textbook.” The kids saw this as a ridiculous and laughable analogy.
And so, some in the administration, worked to build a felony case against these kids. Records were selectively prepared and provided to the Police Department and, without any investigation, the Police Department proceeded to file charges with Juvenile Court.
On Tuesday, May 31st, just before finals, the Kutztown Police Department notified the parents of 13 high school students that their children were being charged with the crime of Computer Trespass. This offense is graded by the state as a felony of the 3rd degree. Most of the parents were shocked and outraged that the administration had never contacted or consulted with them about the need to modify their kids behavior. And, this wasn’t anywhere even close to the punishment that had been talked about when the program was introduced. In a Reading Eagle article date November 2, 2004, it was reported that the principal Eric Erb had warned a classroom about not going to Web sites for entertainment and about taking care of the computers - mentioning an hour of detention if those directions were not met.
The administration takes no responsibility for losing control, although they are planning security configuration changes for next year. It seems they expect a free pass for their mistakes.
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Back to CutUsaBreak, under What we want, the kids say, “The information we have received indicates that out of the ~300 boys in grades 9 - 12, 80-100 were involved with the ‘unauthorized access’ and 1 out of every 20 boys in grades 9 to 11 was charged with a felony,” they say on CutUsaBreak.
“This reflects a terrible system failure. The administration needs to admit their responsibility in the breakdown of security and discipline during the rollout of this experimental laptop program.
And they want the system fixed.
“Start with a competent, and proven disciplinarian,” they say. Then, “Fix the security lapse on the laptops. Educate the kids on what criminal charges are all about. They don’t know, and don’t tell us that ignorance is no excuse; it is the schools responsibility to educate.
“Make it a policy that the parents must be pulled in and involved and proof of such to be in the file before the administration can take their computer related problems to the courts in the future. Come on this is an experimental program.”
And, “Make it policy that there is a back up plan other than felony charges for the kids who can not handle the temptations that laptops bring into their lives.
“Other schools and most parents know that the suspension of computer privileges is the most effective way to influence behavior. In short, do not force all kids to have to use the computers in order to get their education. There are at least 2 instances of the kids wanting to turn in the laptops and they were forced to take them back. They were eventually charged. This is wrong.” [Our emphasis]
What don’t they want?
1) The program to go away, unless it can’t be fixed.
2) The kids to get off without appropriate consequences
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There are also several interesting observations from parents.
I am amazed that the KAHS school board could vote 7-0 to continue this program that is so controversial and has so many unanswered issues,” says one. “I have spoken with an attorney that has stated that the school district can not make this program mandatory and then require the students to pay charges for insurance for the PC’s. At best, this program should be voluntary and those who chose to participate can pay for the consequences. Our family has our own PC’s and we do not need to have the school district provide one. As a significant tax payer to this school district, I do not want my tax payer money wasted on school district administrators spying on the 600 students who use their PC’s. We plan to return the PC this fall and not sign the PC contract. I recommend that this Web site organize a group of all students and families to return their laptops this fall.
If the school district does not drop the criminal charges, I recommend that the attorneys representing the 13 juvenile criminals identify all of the Apple Corps students and require them to testify if they forwarded the infamous administrator passwords to other students. We know they did and are as guilty as the 13 hackers and they should be criminally charged as well. I believe it is time to start making some major changes to the Kutztown School district administration and school board. Let’s not be complacent!
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And, Sounds like a case of entrapment to me, says another. The students did what you would expect. They took the technology made mandatory to them and explored. I personally would be disappointed if they didn’t. Give the students an “A” for their inginuity. Clearly the school administration is embarrassed and has over reacted.
Sincerely,
Paul Benson, CET
Senior Engineering Technologist
Power Distribution & Machines
Certification Division
CSA International
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And, I am a university Macintosh manager with a 15-year old son, so I think it is appropriate that I put a few cents into the pot, says a third. I am in complete agreement that the KHS administration has grossly overreacted. Hello? We’re talking about teens here! Geez, get a clue…
I find it ironic that, in over-reacting to these 13 (apparently carefully chosen) students’ actions, the KHS administration has painted a nice fat target on any computer security measures they implement in the future. I can’t imagine they’ll win their case, or
that it will even get to trial. In the ensuing celebration the young hackers and their friends will see open season on the security of the laptops. This is not a good thing, I’m afraid, but an inevitable consequence of:
1. Poor technical management: At the very least those passwords should have been changed regularly (this can be performed through Apple Remote Desktop or a UNIX shell script. If the student has disabled it, then the tech calls them in and reads them the what-for). Oh, and they probably should have hired a professional Mac geek (with teenage kids if possible 
to manage the laptops. No, I’m not looking for a job. I like the one I have (and I only have to deal with one teenager!).
2. Short-sighted rules & policies: Teenagers are all about pushing limits and finding holes. Of COURSE they’re going to get into trouble! Have someone at the ready who has the technical expertise and personality to be a mentor, not just a disciplinarian (see Mac geek above).
3. Reactionary behavior due to a vague and distorted perception of the technology involved: I am reminded of the technical myopia and resulting misguided decisions of the pointy haired manager in Scott Adams’ “Dilbert” comic strip…
If the KHS administration had done these things they could have kept attention OFF the security holes and work-arounds these students used to get past the security measures. Oops! Now the cat is out of the bag. All the students will know about them. The district will now have to be doubly vigilant if they want to continue putting district computers in the hands of students, and they’ll have to hire at least one professional geek to do his/her best to keep things straight.
Hmmm. Maybe this isn’t all bad though: I wonder if the rate of computer geeks coming out of KHS might be a little higher than the national average for the next few years. Someone want to keep tabs on this? 
Patrick Mullen
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Stay tuned. And meanwhile, help us to keep on posting : )
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August 11th, 2005 at 8:58 pm
Ooooh, the poor,poor citezenry. That mean old bastion of same old, same old, Apple Computer made them all use their product. Shame on them. Heartless….. that’s what they are.
“But in the background is Apple Computer, one of the major firms whose relentless school marketing schemes end up with students using one, and only one, product, whether they want to or not.”
Come on. Apple is a corporate entity who sells products. That school districts use their money to buy a single product line from a single company is unfortunately necessary. Given school funding being what it is, there is not enough money in any school districts pocket to pick and choose the technology they want. “Em, I’ll take one from Colum A, two from Colum B, three from Colum C, a couple of servers and a switch from the lunch specials….”
Instead, schools have a limited budget to spend and they request responses from all companies on what can be provided them for a specific price point. That they chose Apple in this scenario speaks to the quality of the product (and by product I mean more than the hardware outlined here).
It is becoming more and more commonplace, since the 70s anyway, to need to find the single entity that is the cause of our woes. And, too often it cannot be “our” fault for anything. That Apple’s products were in place in the school does not make the issue’s Apple’s. You don’t sue Ford when someone driving an Excursion runs over your dog, you take it up with the operator of the vehicle.
Darn that Ford Motor Company. They are insidious with their slogans and marketing campaigns. Why do we need to use Ford buses at the school? Everyone should be able to choose their own bus manufacturer to get to school. Why, it must be a conspiracy. A plot. That’s what it is!
I think that Mr. Mullen has nailed it. Regardless of the technology you implement, you need to have the correct qualifications for its use. Whether that is a Class A license to drive a bus or the prerequisite skills to adequately secure a network environment from the inquisitive minds of students.
That we now punish students for being curious is the most frightening aspect of the situation. But, I suppose that is simply an outgrowth of our society’s aversion to accountability at all levels.
Be smart here.
August 11th, 2005 at 10:04 pm
It seems to me the school got just what it asked for. It implimented a program in hopes of getting students up to speed with computers. Given the time and the ablitily to explore, boy did they ever learn.
The main problems here isn’t the students, it’s the school admin. The admin wasn’t prepared with the technical expertise to adminster the program, they weren’t concerned with security at the start and failed even after it was proven crackable to get concerned with it. Nor was the admin concerned with asking about ways of controlling the software from the maker of the Mac’s. When everything failed, the admin covered their butts and left the students to hang in the public dirty laundry. For myself I can think of several ways to at least limit the access of kids to those things they deem of questionable value.
That the admin threw up their hands rather than just confiscate the laptops of those problem children that suceeded in learning beyond the admins limited scope of expectations isn’t the children’s fault. The school board seriously failed those children by letting it reach federal law level. Obviously those of the school admin should never again release a tool to the students that they aren’t willing to allow them to learn. Those of that school board and the admin of the school should be replaced in its entirety in hopes that there is someone of better caliber to lead learning. Those that are incumbent haven’t a clue as to what they are doing and it shows in allowing those students to ever reach “being in trouble” with the law over school supplied equipment.
August 12th, 2005 at 9:56 pm
This is another case of staff being dumber than students and punishing the students for the staff’s stupidity. The kids even tried to turn in the computers but the administration would not let them. I would like to see those that brought in the police get SUED. This crap is getting ridiculous. Jon has the right idea for educating children (homeschooling).