Free software (also Libre software) is software that respects your freedoms. The 4 basic freedoms are:
- The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose
- The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish
- The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help others
- The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others
Linux and BSD are used by nearly all cloud services companies for their security, stability, and speed. The only “enterprise-scale” server applications that don’t support them are either Microsoft products or on life support from their developers.
Free software is far more secure than nonfree counterparts.
If source code is public, then if any security vulnerabilities are noticed, people can fix them and give the changes away. Free software programs are constantly reviewed by large companies, small companies, and independent security experts, because the world depends on them.
Windows and macOS, however, do not have such security, because they are nonfree and their sources are internal.
If you look at most programs, you will notice that they send data back to Google and their “owners,” and often do not state that they do. Most sites using reCAPTCHA or Google Analytics do not tell you about Google’s data collection, often even in their own privacy policy.
With most Libre software, there is no need to dig for this information: the source code is public, and a simple grep(1) can find most of it. If anything suspicious is present, creators will be pressured to remove it, or people will move to a modified version without it.
Because strict privacy regulations apply to the school, it would be in the its best interests to use privacy-respecting software.
While it is only a secondary benefit, the school could replace several funds drains, since nearly all Free software is gratis in price.
Libre software is educational, because you have the right to review and change the source code. Imagine how the Coding cycle or AP Computer Science class could be improved by looking at examples of simple and complex real-world programs’ source code.
Adopting Libre software does come with a lot of sacrifices. LibrePlanet 2021 ended when they crashed their BigBlueButton server, by having many people join and turn on their webcams. But with more people using Libre software, more people will contribute and fix things.
Many school programs have led to teachers changing their teaching practices to be in line with the program: with Libre software, these programs can be changed instead to fit the teachers.