A watchdog program used by North Carolina public schools that takes an active approach to ending violence in schools is being called "horrifying" by the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, Wired magazine reports.

The WAVE program (Working Against Violence Everywhere), supported by Gov. James B. Hunt and operated by Pinkerton Services Group, is offered to all 800 North Carolina public middle and high schools. Only 50 schools are participating so far, the magazine reports.

"This program will go a long way toward reinforcing ethical responsibility, teaching the early warning signs of threatening behavior and opening channels of communication that foster positive action," Hunt told Wired.

A student who overhears a classmate talking about having a weapon can log onto the Web site and anonymously fill out a form detailing what he or she heard. Students can also fill out a form if they see a classmate "who might appear depressed or angry - or who just scares them," the Wired article states. The form is then forwarded to a WAVE employee, who notifies the school's principal of the situation. It is then up to school administrators to take some kind of action.

Privacy advocates and civil liberties groups say the program does nothing more than brush aside a students' civil rights "in the interest of the elusive goal of protection," the article states.

Marty Geer, legal committee chairwoman of the ACLU of North Carolina, told the magazine she thinks the program is a "knee-jerk reaction" and does nothing to help the child accused of perpetrating violence.

"Our big concern would be, what do schools do with the information?" Geer said. "I think that should be of concern to people everywhere."

Another concern of several groups is the recruiting method used by WAVE to entice students. The site offers free e-mail for everyone who signs up and prizes -- including a free computer -- for those who frequently use the system.

Critics also say the site does not comply with the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. The law, which goes into effect April 21, requires Web sites to obtain parental consent before using, disclosing or collecting personal information of children less than 13 years old.

Companies being allowed into classrooms via the Internet and that collect students' personal information are drawing fire from the Consumers Union (CU), too. The CU supports the privacy act and is calling for a nationwide study on the effects of commercialism in the classroom.

Nancy Willard -- director of the "Responsible Netizen" project for the University of Oregon School of Business -- has been investigating how young people make decisions about online activities, the social impact of their use of interactive technologies, and how companies provide free computers to schools in exchange for marketing access.

Willard said that in her discussions with educators, it is apparent they do not understand the amount of data corporations are gathering on students. She suggests corporations who are accessing students should have to comply with the same regulations as researchers from federally funded institutions.

"I must meet these requirements even if the data I am gathering is anonymous," she said. "From a researcher's perspective, it is simply unconscionable that corporations are collecting market research data from young people in school for the purposes of encouraging consumer behavior without parental consent or knowledge."

In a disturbing example, a Wired reporter logged onto the WAVE site as an 11-year-old girl and signed up for the free e-mail service, but first had to provide her gender, age, state and educational goals.

Wired reports America is likely to see the trend of security companies vigorously moving into school districts increase as the fear of school violence spreads. A federal report finds that while crime rates in schools are declining, incidents of multiple homicides are on the rise.

Ken Trump, CEO of National School Safety and Security Services, told Wired he thinks it is important to create a mechanism for students to divulge information they may know about a potentially violent classmate.

"One of the things we've learned from Columbine is that somewhere ahead of time, someone had some info," Trump said.

The Consumer's Union report is available at:
http://www.consumersunion.org/other/sellingkids/index.htm

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http://www.wired.com/news/politics/
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