Read the research
In recent years, technology has played an increasingly important role in the ongoing battles over public education as a public good. School administrators have rapidly adopted a variety of corporate digital technologies in the name of improving school safety and operational efficiency. These technologies include learning management systems, AI-powered cameras, student activity monitoring software, and environmental sensors (e.g. vape detectors and "aggression" analyzers). While officials often acquire these technologies with the intention of improving how public schools function and operate, our research has shown that most of these corporate technologies are inadequate for addressing the durable problems within Texas public schools and often exacerbate underlying structural and systemic problems. This report outlines four case studies that illustrate how the adoption of digital technologies have made Houston-area schools more punitive for students and teachers, undermine teaching as a profession, and make schools more hostile to LGBTQ+, disabled, and students of color, all while enabling corporations to gain a larger stake in the management and control of public schools.
The key issues explored in this report include:
- Protection at what cost? Security against a backdrop of punishment in Texas schools.
- Safe spaces for whom? Schools as a site for America’s culture wars
- No teacher? No problem. Transforming educators into contingent labor.
Houston Diagnostic Report
Production: Edgelands Institute
Local curator and lead researcher: Chelsea Barabas
Contributing researcher: Ed Vogel
Assistant researchers: Christianna Thomas and Chinelo Dike
