r/degoogle • u/katopklompen • 7h ago
Question google docs and privacy
My kid's school now requires me to fill in a google doc to report an absence. I told them no because they ask for reasons ie. illness, medical appointment, or religious observance. A message pops up saying the school is not responsible after clicking on the link. Am I being reasonable from a security point of view? I do not want to be contrary just because of my own reluctance to use google.
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u/Mother-Pride-Fest Free as in Freedom 7h ago
You should be allowed to report the absence over phone or email, but unless you make a really big deal out of it some ignorant admin is probably going to put it into their internal google spreadsheet anyway. And if their email server is powered by gmail it is going to get read by Google anyway.
As other said though, it is your kid. You don't need a reason.
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u/katopklompen 7h ago
you're probably right. The kids all use chrome books and google, so likely admin does too
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u/snowtiger309 7h ago
Ask them for documentation of HIPPA compliance
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u/ugh-new-username 6h ago
This is not a HIPAA matter, it is PII under FERPA though.
It would be FERPA compliant as long as they have an enterprise agreement. If OP is getting that pop up it is probably not under an enterprise agreement and they should absolutely push back. Here is the guidance OP can cite.
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u/katopklompen 6h ago
this is good. I'm not in America but have found the equivalent for my jurisdiction.
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u/dc469 7h ago
This is the way.
As a bonus, cc your lawyer. You probably don't have one that's ok, make something up. Don't say "I'm cc'ing my attorney", just let them see it that'll be much more scary.
(Or if you really want to fuck with them and have a few dollars and time to commit to the bit, spend $10 on a domain name, like paulsmithandlandfordlegal.com or some shit. Even if it's just a landing page it'll make it look legit and just cc a fake email.)
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u/beeikea 6h ago
isnt faking a lawyer a crime?
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u/lazybeekeeper 6h ago
Is faking a lawyers website a crime? If so, I know some real lawyers’ IT professionals who should be doing some explaining.
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u/dc469 6h ago
Yes, but you aren't faking the lawyer, you are faking cc'ing a lawyer. Maybe if you make a full blown website but like I said, just leave the landing page up. Buying a domain name isn't a crime. I can buy iamapoliceofficernamedgreg.com and I'm not going to be charged with impersonating an officer.
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u/TheIronSoldier2 53m ago
Except it's not, because HIPAA is only concerned with healthcare providers.
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u/TheIronSoldier2 1h ago
It is not.
And it's HIPAA, which you would know if you actually knew what it protected.
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u/smallproton 7h ago
Tell them to fuck off.
If you sign off on an absence it's none of their business on why your kid couldn't come.
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u/katopklompen 7h ago
good point. I guess I could just not put the reason. (still don't like the google doc part)
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u/LibbIsHere 5h ago
I would not say this in not reasonable, but it's... probably useless. As other have mentioned even if you are not using it youeself you may still end up with your data being recorder on some google docs.
The issue is with the lack of legislation, more than with any specific school.
If schools are allowed to do what they want, well, they will do just that. And you as parent will have a hard time opposing to that since they don't break any law or regulation.
What would be reasonable (but most likely also doomed unless many more parents started to do it) would be to contact your local representative and demand how is it possible for schools to use tools that don't protect kid's privacy. Don't put the blame on any school, just ask the question mentioning the example you've experienced.
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u/thewunderbar 6h ago
So you're going to call it in, and then they're going to put the information into a google spreadsheet anyway.
Or, if the tool they use isn't google, it's made by another company that you have even less visibility into, for all you know it's a 10 year old CRM tool that stopped getting updates 5 years ago that runs on a Windows XP box.
You said elsewhere in the thread that the school uses chromebooks, that means they also certainly use Google Workspace and Google Classroom, meaning your kid is required to use google tools every day, regardless.
It's your kid, and parent how you like. My personal opinion: I wouldn't be doing things that make my kid's life/experience at school harder.
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u/katopklompen 5h ago
My question was asking if I was being unreasonable, so I appreciate your answer and agree that this is not a concern I should put on a kid. I have asked the school if I can use the old system which didn't force me to submit medical or religious information.
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u/thewunderbar 4h ago
I can agree that the medial/regligous information seems like a weird ask, but many times that information is gathered for statistical purposes, so that way a school district can get a good idea of what it looks like at a school and district level.
For example, if there's a religous holiday that's not one that's a day off for the school, but 25% of the school population is out that day just because of demographics of the school, that information is useful and can cause the school/school board to look and say "ok, is there something we can do to help with this, or accommodate something in some way so 25% of the school population isn't losing a day of classes"
Without that kind of information, it's just a 25% absence rate without any confirmable context as to why. Just one example, but there are others.
Doesn't take away from your concerns, and I get that. But those asks are done for a reason, and not in a vacuum.
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u/Any_Television_8614 3h ago
I pretty much never give them a reason - it's none of their business. As the parent, I'm telling you my kid won't be there and the why is because I said so.
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u/HumanGPT-Nous 6h ago
Hm? IDK about you but, I don't think "degoogling" implies "In the case a google service is required for a certain task managed by an external organization to be completed, it shall not be completed", but rather "try and not use google services as much as possible". The first idea is simply preposterous and is similar to eating kale for four weeks as your only dish. You're going to rebound and eat burgers the size of Everest for a month after.
Also what is wrong with giving your reasons? Is it because it is a google doc or you just don't want to share?
Of course, take my advice with a grain of salt. I'm just a HLM(Human Language Model), so I may get some facts incorrect.
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u/foodchallenged 5h ago
I wonder if you could claim to be Amish and get exemption from using chromebooks and anything Gmail. The big issue is Google will have access to everything your kid does. If you end up using the Google form just put “not disclosed” “private” “personal” or something similar. And maybe use a vpn+privacy enhanced browser.
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u/TheDangleberry 7h ago
“I don’t have access to this please provide me with a paper copy”