ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The New York State Education Department (NYSED) issued an order to stop schools in the state from purchasing or using facial recognition technology on Wednesday. The order came in light of a biometric identifying technology in schools report from the Office of Information Technology Services.

NYSED Commissioner Betty Rosa concluded that “serious” concerns surrounding the use of facial recognition technology don’t outweigh the claimed benefits. However, schools can decide to use biometric identifying technology other than facial recognition as long as they consider the technology’s privacy implications, impact on civil rights, effectiveness, and parental input.