Hatch, Markey Reintroduce Protecting Student Privacy Act
Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Ed Markey, D-Mass., reintroduced the Protecting Student Privacy Act, legislation they introduced last year that would update the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act “to ensure that students are better protected in an interconnected world,”…
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a joint news release said. “The PreK-12 educational software and digital content market currently is worth more than $8 billion, with approximately 95 percent of school districts sending student records to companies that manage important necessary school services,” it said. “Only 7 percent of the same school districts sign contracts that directly prevent the companies from selling students’ data that includes everything from grades, to test scores, attendance records and family relationships,” it said. “Data analysis holds promise for increasing student achievement, but it also holds peril from a privacy perspective,” Markey said. “There are threats to students when their personal information is in the hands of private companies, and we need to make sure parents have the tools to protect their children.” Hatch agreed that all students' personal data should be protected when stored by third parties. “This legislation establishes security safeguards to ensure greater transparency and access to stored information for students and parents,” he said. “It also includes a provision prohibiting data mining for marketing or advertising purposes, and provides other commonsense protections for students’ personally identifiable student data.”