New Jersey schools have begun the year under a bell-to-bell ban on internet-connected devices, and smart glasses fall inside it. The catch is that camera frames look like ordinary eyewear, which is how they are sold.

Jersey Shore Online asked local superintendents how they would police the hardware. Only two replied.

Toms River’s superintendent, Michael Citta, told the outlet that the frames are barred by both district policy and state legislation, and that staff will be briefed on spotting them before the term begins. He said a prescription alone is no exemption, though the policy covers devices listed in a health plan or an individualised education plan.

Central Regional superintendent Michelle CarneyRay-Yoder took a different route. If the glasses are prescription, students may wear them, and the district will lean on an app that blocks other applications, including Meta’s, so recording cannot start on campus.

The concern is minors. Camera glasses can capture halls, locker rooms and restrooms, and civil rights groups have warned for months that the frames record people without consent or even awareness.

The rules join a widening set of restrictions. Seoul tightened exam rules after a cheating case, Australian councils pushed camera glasses out of pools, and three island regulators issued a joint privacy advisory this week.

Source: Jersey Shore Online