Pa. school district agrees to preserve webcam evidence on 2,300 laptops amid spying lawsuit

Pa. schools agree to preserve webcam evidence

PHILADELPHIA — A suburban Philadelphia school district has agreed to preserve webcam evidence on student laptops as a lawsuit alleges that officials spied on students at home.

A lawyer for a family suing the Lower Merion School District wants to block the district from altering data on about 2,300 student laptops.

Lower Merion officials agreed to preserve evidence but want the right to install anti-virus or other updates. The two sides are in federal court Monday negotiating an agreement.

School officials admit they activated the webcams to find missing laptops without informing students. The teen who sued says the school photographed him at home although he never reported the laptop missing.

The FBI and others are investigating possible wiretap and other violations.