Another school district has been hit by pornography being displayed in Zoom classes. On Friday, Williamsburg-James City County Schools(WJCCS) had two incidents in high school classes.
“During two separate live instruction sessions, someone used an inappropriate photo as their profile picture,” WJCCS Strategic Communications Officer Eileen Cox told The Virginia Star.
“In both instances, the image was up for less than a minute. The teacher blocked the user and reported the issue to school administrators. At Warhill High School, staff does not believe the person was a student or someone affiliated with the school. The matter was reported to Zoom. The incident at Jamestown High School is still being investigated.”
Other school districts including the Loudoun County Public Schools have been hit by similar attacks, called ‘Zoombombing.’ By the end of last March, the FBI was already warning about the trend, and in early April, the New York Times was reporting on zoombombing groups who coordinated attacks on businesses or schools. Edweekly reports that it is difficult for schools to identify who is perpetrating the attacks, and that some may just be students trying to interrupt their classes.
WJCCS is currently in the first phase of its COVID-19 response plan, involving full remote learning. The school is expected this week to announce whether or not it will move to the next phase, giving PreK-3rd grades a blended learning model. Eventually, the school plans to return to on-site learning, but it has no timeline for that move.
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network. Email tips to [email protected].
