The Lawrence school district has replaced Gaggle with a seemingly similar AI surveillance tool called Managed Methods, according to Superintendent Jeanice Swift. 

Gaggle is the AI monitoring software that sparked a federal civil rights lawsuit by current and former students. Gaggle sifts through anything connected to the district’s Google Workspace and flags content it deems a safety risk, such as allusions to self-harm, depression, drug use and violence. 

In court filings Monday, attorneys for Lawrence Public Schools argued for the partial dismissal of the students’ lawsuit, arguing the district had ceased use of Gaggle during the summer.

But the documents contain no mention of a new program that can do similar file monitoring to Gaggle. 

Swift confirmed in an email via a district spokesperson Tuesday that the district had canceled its contract with Gaggle over the summer, but was instead using a new tool called Managed Methods. Swift said it was a “proficient tool that continues to monitor for student safety.” She said the reason for the switch was cost savings of about $35,000 annually.

Managed Methods has a product called Cloud Monitor which appears similar to Gaggle. According to its website, it uses AI algorithms to identify and alert administrators to “various safety issues such as self-harm, cyberbullying, threats, and explicit content.”

Jake Potter, a district spokesperson, did not respond to a request for more information on Managed Methods and how the district was utilizing it. No school board agendas from recent months appear to include mention of Managed Methods.  

There appears to be a few differences between Gaggle and Managed Methods, according to information available on their websites.

For example, Gaggle uses humans to help in the evaluation of student information, whereas Managed Methods appears to use only AI and no human agents. Managed Methods also can track browser usage. Gaggle only flags content on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. 

The decision to stop use of Gaggle and switch to Managed Methods came in the late summer and early fall, according to Swift. In July, Swift told this publication the district was planning to continue using Gaggle. 

The district purchased Gaggle in 2023 for $162,000 over three years. This year was set to be the final year of that three-year contract. 

Lawrence students have pushed back against Gaggle since it was first used by the district two years ago. 

During the 2023-24 school year, a handful of Lawrence High School journalism students convinced the district to remove their files from Gaggle’s reach, arguing their files were protected by the Kansas Student Publications Act, legislation that protects student journalists, ensuring editorial independence and shielding them from censorship by school authorities. Their arguments have been regularly supported by the Student Press Law Center.

Still, then-LHS journalism teacher Barb Tholen alerted the district of further concerns with Gaggle. Despite the objections, the school board voted 6-1 to renew Gaggle’s contract at its annual organizational meeting in 2024.

The student’s lawsuit, filed nearly three months ago, claims the district’s use of Gaggle constituted a “sweeping, suspicionless monitoring program” and violated student rights by flagging and seizing student artwork. It says Gaggle undermines the mental health goals it attempts to address by intercepting appeals for help students may send to teachers or other trusted adults. 

Read more background in the articles linked below.

Cuyler Dunn (he/him), a contributor to The Lawrence Times since April 2022, is a student at the University of Kansas School of Journalism. He is a graduate of Lawrence High School where he was the editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, The Budget, and was named the 2022 Kansas High School Journalist of the Year. Read his complete bio here. Read more of his work for the Times here.

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