School used student laptop webcams to spy on them at school and home

[PeppyGPhiB]

Even if parents/students over 18 signed Terms of Use agreements, it doesn't give the school access to the students' home Internet networks. They didn't just record keystrokes like many companies do, they recorded live video and audio, too. They basically placed a video camera inside their students' homes. Not even the police can do that.

A question: is this common nowadays, schools buying laptops for all students? I'm wondering what the school districts are getting out of it. Aside from ensuring all students learn how to use a computer in case they don't have one at home, I'm thinking that schools must be finding other ways to argue for them. After all, computers for every student in a district (assuming this is a district policy and not just a school) is expensive, and yet I'm guessing that most districts that can afford to do this are wealthy districts with families that could likely afford to buy their own laptops.