City teachers told to stop using Zoom

City Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza has ordered teachers to stop using the videoconferencing platform Zoom, after there were reports of security breaches including strangers entering group chats.

Many teachers have been relying on Zoom to chat with students during remote learning.

“The DOE has received various reports documenting issues that impact the security and privacy of the Zoom platform,” Carranza wrote in his weekly digest to principals.

“Based on the DOE’s review of these documented concerns, the DOE will no longer permit the use of Zoom at this time,” he said.

The city Education Department also declined to give school staff permission to use Google video-chatting software as a backup option.

That revelation could sow confusion for thousands of city teachers who have been relying on the Google Classroom platform at the Education Department’s recommendation, and using the Google video conferencing software embedded in that platform to communicate with students.

Officials said they are working on getting security clearance for Google’s video chats. Using Google Classroom without the video and audio chatting functions is still permitted, they said.

Officials could change their mind on Zoom “at a later date, when security and data privacy concerns are met,” Carranza wrote.

City teachers and students are supposed to “migrate to Microsoft Teams” for their video chatting needs. Teachers can sign in using their city email addresses, and students can use their DOE student account credentials.

Education Department officials said they’ve begun training staff on Microsoft Teams, which hosts video calls and chat threads, and will hold more training Monday.

Department spokeswoman Danielle Filson said, “There are many new components to remote learning, and we are making real-time decisions in the best interest of our staff and students.”