A new law called the Student Online Personal Protection Act (S0PPA) intends to ultimately protect students’ data and provide the parents of the student control over how it is put to use. But, additional stipulations make it complicated for students to publish their student newspapers, according to Block Club Chicago.
What Do The Stipulations Hinder?
Some companies the students connect with regarding software to publish news have not met or cannot meet the extra stipulations added by CPS. This affects the production of the student newspapers. In addition, fear has also arisen in students of the possibility of losing access to years of archived photos and news-related stories.
An example of a commonly used software by students in the United States that has hurriedly had to update their software to match the law’s stipulation is Adobe. Adobe is used to design print publications.
Due to software not yet updated to meet new stipulations of the law, many students have lost access to the software unless they pay out of pocket for it and utilize it on their schedule.
However, vendors were given to enact the update hindering the ability to publish because of the heavy stipulations of the law, according to Katie Fernandez, a journalism adviser at Phoenix Military Academy, President of Scholastic Press Association of Chicago, and Illinois Director of the Journalism Education Association.
A significant number of Chicago Public Schools do not have journalism programs not established. Moreover, the law may make it more confusing for current programs to publish, stated by Fernandez.
The Jones College Prep paper adviser, Ryan Maggid, stated he thinks the law’s initiative is well-purposed and targeted to protect students’ information. Still, before implementing the law, CPS should have closely evaluated potential issues it could cause for student newspapers, according to the Block Club Chicago.
Written By Ke’Lena Thomas
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
Block Club Chicago: CPS Student Newspapers Are Struggling To Publish Because Of New Tech Rules, Staffers Say; by Ava Thompson
Featured Image Courtesy of Magnus Karlsson’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of wp paarz’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
