SkieCan students use safe mode to get around Skie?
No. Skie turns on Android's safe boot restriction, so a managed device cannot be restarted into safe mode. It is on by default. Safe mode normally disables third-party apps, which would include Skie's helpers, so blocking it closes a well-known route students try when they want a clean tablet.
Safe mode is an Android diagnostic boot that starts the device with downloaded apps switched off. Students find it on video sites because it can make a restricted device look unrestricted for a few minutes. On a device without a block, holding a power menu entry or a key combination while restarting can lead there.
Skie sets the DISALLOW_SAFE_BOOT user restriction as the device owner. Android then refuses to boot into safe mode, and the option in the power menu is not offered. Because the restriction belongs to Android and not to an app that could be switched off, it applies from the first moment the device starts.
It is a default protection, and it is its own switch in the hardening part of the policy. You do not need to enable anything. The device reads the value back from Android after each apply and reports it as part of the compliance score, so you can confirm it is active on any tablet without touching it.
If a tablet is running badly and you want to troubleshoot it, do that from the dashboard instead. Use a compliance run, a fresh sync or a replace device flow. Turning safe mode back on for a single group is possible, but it is rarely needed.
Practical tip: tell your staff that safe mode on a managed device is not a fix to suggest to students. If the tablet is stuck, a teacher should raise it with the admin.