Two years ago, the Washington Waldorf School in Bethesda was undergoing some major renovations when school leaders decided to give the school more than just a new roof. They also installed dozens of internet wall jacks where you can plug in an ethernet cable. Yes, the school was going back to wired internet.
“We were already partially wired,” says Jennifer Page, the school’s faculty chair. “And we just extended that. We put drops in all of our classroom and we added extra drops in our high schools.”
It was an interesting move. Just 12 percent of public classrooms across the country report they don’t have a Wi-Fi connection that supports all students — a number the Federal Communications Commission is trying to get to zero by 2020. But as schools and the federal government try to expand internet and Wi-Fi access, the Waldorf School brought back wires...
FCC limits do not ensure safety. Please read what At and T states: AT&T Inc.
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“Unfavorable litigation or governmental investigation results could require us to pay significant amounts or lead to onerous operating procedures”
“We are subject to a number of lawsuits both in the United States and in foreign countries, including, at any particular time, claims relating to antitrust; patent infringement; wage and hour; personal injury; customer privacy violations; regulatory proceedings; and selling and collection practices. We also spend substantial resources complying with various government standards, which may entail related investigations and litigation. In the wireless area, we also face current and potential litigation relating to alleged adverse health effects on customers or employees who use such technologies including, for example, wireless devices. We may incur significant expenses defending such suits or government charges and may be required to pay amounts or otherwise change our operations in ways that could materially adversely affect our operations or financial results.”
So the question is this.. Is MCPS prepared to face the liability issues that come with allowing WiFi in the schools- Wi-Fi accessed by laptops, tablets and cell phones ? MCPS states they have no insurance in regards to this and are self insured.
This makes sense as insurance companies DO NOT insure for EMFS. See tat portland public schoolinsurance policy ......
Portland Public School Insurance: GENESIS INSURANCE COMPANY
Pg 30.” Exclusions: This insurance does not apply to:
Bodily injury, personal injury, advertising injury, or property damage arising directly or indirectly out of, resulting from, caused or contributed to by electromagnetic radiation, provided that such loss, cost or expense results from or is contributed to by the hazardous properties of electromagnetic radiation. This includes any costs for the actual or threatened abatement, mitigation, or removal.”
Coverage Part B School Board Legal Liability: Various provisions in this Coverage Part restrict coverage. Read the entire Coverage Part carefully to determine rights, duties and what is and is not covered.
Pg 48 Exclusions: This insurance does not apply to any loss:
“8. Bodily injury, personal injury, advertising injury, or property damage arising directly or indirectly out of, resulting from, caused or contributed to by electromagnetic radiation, provided that such loss, cost or expense results from or is contributed to by the hazardous properties of electromagnetic radiation. This includes any costs for the actual or threatened abatement, mitigation, or removal.
Cost or expense arising directly or indirectly out of, resulting from, caused or contributed to by electromagnetic radiation, provided that such loss, cost or expense result from or are contributed to by the hazardous properties of electromagnetic radiation. This includes any costs for the actual or threatened abatement, mitigation, or removal.”
Please note that the long list of schools removing wireless from the classroom can be found here https://ehtrust.org/schools-worldwide-removing-wifi-reducing-exposure/
The Federal Communications Commission's(FCC)primary role is to manage the
Deleteelectromagnetic spectrum, specifically frequency allocation and spectrum usage.
I asked MCPS to do the same before they started working on the B-CC high school addition in 2016. The response I got from James Tokar was this: "Since the MCPS office of the Chief Technology Office has performed extensive research on this subject and has set the standard for wireless technology in our schools, I would like to defer you to their website. Please use the following the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/technology/
If you need any additional information I recommend that you contact Mr. Sherwin A. Collette at the Chief Technology Office directly using the “Contact Us” tab on their website. "
D. Wilson
Extensive research = None.
DeleteContact who? The person that has been removed from the position.
Another MCPS failure.
Another MCPS failure? Not at all. Collette was well paid. He also for awhile held the same position at Montgomery College at the same time he was the Chief Technology Officer at MCPS. Mission accomplished! High pay and no accountability courtesy of Montgomery County taxpayers and no interference from voters or the county council. That is the goal of this Board of Education. Well done, Brownie.
Delete" at the same time " He must have been Heisenberg's student!
Delete"In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." Erasmus
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