Staff across the district began to pick up school-issued iPads on October 16 to ensure that students kept the district’s profiles encrypted in the iPad settings.

The staff made trips to classrooms with freshmen and sophomores to check each iPad and see if the system had the proper profiles set up. If the iPad did not contain the proper proxies, the staff would take up the iPad, correct the issue and then return the iPad as soon as possible.

There are many factors that could be responsible for the loss of these profiles. One of these ways is for a student to download the newest Apple update, iOS 7. While not prominent in all cases, downloading iOS 7 has reportedly been the cause of the deleted LISD profiles.

Some students downloaded the iOS 7 update, only for their LISD profiles to be deleted. One of these students was sophomore Katie McGhee.

“I downloaded iOS 7, and then everything on my iPad from the district was deleted,” Katie said. “It wasn’t even my fault. I was worried, and so I told the staff, and they just took my iPad and tried to fix it.”

Katie’s iPad was returned to her almost a week after turning it in.

“I got my iPad back, but it was way too late,” she said. “My teachers put all the homework on apps only accessible by the iPads, and I didn’t get any work done for nearly a whole week.”

Katie expressed her concern with having no iPad and hopes LISD will resolve the issue.

“It wasn’t even my fault,” she said. “I didn’t get any work done, and it wasn’t even my fault. I hope the district fixes this issue because I doubt that I’m the only student with this issue.”

LISD has contacted the Apple Company, creators of the iPad and iOS 7, to address the situation.

“LISD Communications received confirmation from Apple Inc. that iOS 7 upgrades on LISD devices, including iPads, have the potential to wipe proxy settings,” LISD Public Information Officer Karen Permetti said.

These “proxies” are profiles set up on the iPads that block various sites that would be blocked on a normal school computer. They filter inappropriate content, enforce student security, and also block various entertainment sites, including Facebook, Instagram, Netflix, and more.

Not only are the proxies that block these sites on the computers at school, but the LISD-distributed technology outside of school campuses enforces restricted sites as well, even off the school internet.

“Student safety and security is a priority for LISD,” LISD Chief Technology Officer Barbara Brown said. “We are one of few districts in the nation that provide web-content filtering on our devices, even when they are connected to the internet outside the LISD wireless network.”

The distribution of iPads is a part of LISD’s new initiative called the 1:X™ initiative. This development allows students to have access to all necessary educational tools, including their textbook, at the touch of their fingertips.

LISD staff has been working since the iOS 7’s launch to address the dilemma.

“Apple engineers are onsite in LISD working to resolve the iOS 7 issue,” Permetti said. “LISD technologists are working diligently to identify iPads that have been affected and reconfigure those devices.”