Arizona schools use AI surveillance on students. Here’s what parents need to know.

Acording to GovSpend, an agency that tracks government spending, 52 Arizona school agencies paid for software that can monitor students between 2020 and 2025. Most of the agencies are school districts, but some charter schools are included. Not every school in a district necessarily uses the software.

Some school districts have paid tens of thousands, while others have paid hundreds of thousands. Gilbert Public Schools topped GovSpend’s list, paying more than $400,000 in the past five years. Some districts have indicated they pay $5 per student, others closer to $9.

Schools can monitor social media through programs like Navigate360, which a number of Arizona school districts have paid for in the past five years, according to GovSpend. Not all software, however, monitors social media.