About PIPC
The Public Interest Privacy Center is an organization that equips stakeholders with the insights, training, and tools needed to cultivate effective, ethical, and equitable privacy safeguards for all children and students.
Our vision is that high-impact stakeholders at every tier will have the information and tools necessary to protect all children’s fundamental right to privacy. By educating and equipping high-impact groups and fostering a culture of privacy, PIPC will help create an environment where all children will enjoy privacy-protected benefits of emerging technologies and data use.
The child and student privacy legal and practical landscape is undergoing rapid, continual change.
While educators and school administrators grapple with understanding and applying new technologies and data sharing practices within the classroom, new child privacy protections are being introduced in federal and state legislation on an almost-weekly basis. With over 130 state student privacy laws passed since 2014 and new federal regulations on the horizon, education stakeholders have struggled to stay on top of legal and practical implications. With more attention being paid to privacy and technology issues at all levels, there is a growing critical need for accessible and practical guidance and technical assistance.
Founded in 2022, PIPC is led by a diverse board of education privacy experts and globally recognized child and student privacy expert Amelia Vance. PIPC is registered as a nonstock corporation formed for the non-profit purpose of providing education in Virginia and is in the process of applying for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS. PIPC has partnered with AASA, The School Superintendents Association, to operate AASA’s newly created Student & Child Privacy Center.
What We Do
Our vision is that high-impact stakeholders at every tier will have the information and tools necessary to protect all children’s fundamental right to privacy. By educating and equipping high-impact groups and fostering a culture of privacy, PIPC will help create an environment where all children will enjoy privacy-protected benefits of emerging technologies and data use.
Policy Tracking and Analysis
PIPC provides up-to-date insights into the state, federal, and international student and child privacy policy landscape.
We not only follow child and student privacy bills and regulation, but also general consumer privacy, education, and child welfare policy developments that have child and student privacy implications. Because we examine these issues through a lens of equity and best practices and on-the-ground application, our analyses help identify where policy falls short or may have unintended consequences.
Training and Technical Assistance
PIPC's technical assistance and training helps our partners to not only stay compliant with federal, state, and local laws and regulations, but adopt and implement best practices.
We provide comprehensive presentations, workshops, and trainings on the legal landscape, emerging policy issues at the state and federal level, regulatory requirements, applications of emerging technologies, and industry best practices for properly handling child and student data. We have provided trainings to state, federal, and international policymakers; state and local education agency and institution staff in both K-12 and higher education; education researchers; philanthropic foundations; nonprofits; and companies. PIPC's trainings range from one-time events to semester-long courses, and are available both virtually and in person.
Resources
PIPC creates and collaborates on short resources, blogs, rapid-response alerts, infographics, in-depth reports, and academic papers.
Our goal is that our resources help high impact stakeholders stay on top of developments, understand the impact and nuance emerging issues, and sift through the granular points of the most important student and child privacy issues. We break down these issues into easy-to-understand and referenceable resources that equip our stakeholders to make better informed choices about how to navigate in this complicated and rapidly evolving environment. However, we firmly believe in highlighting existing, free resources above creating new, unnecessary ones, and love to share our favorites.
Public Engagement
PIPC elevates public awareness of key student and child privacy issues through public speaking engagements and by serving as a resource to the press.
We are always happy to discuss and explain emerging issues, policy developments, and technology applications, and especially enjoy dispelling common misunderstandings about privacy issues. PIPC’s leadership frequently speaks at conferences, panels, and webinars, and is a long-time resource for targeted and general media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, NPR, The Guardian, Education Week, The 74, The Atlantic, Vox, and Slate.
Connecting Stakeholders
PIPC believes that better policy and practice is achieved when conversations take place outside of silos and include people representing a variety of stakeholders with different lived experiences and levels of expertise.
PIPC facilitates the collaboration and elevates the work of experts from across the privacy, advocacy, education, child welfare, technology, and industry fields and bridges the understanding gaps between these key groups. We are especially invested in highlighting the work and perspectives of leaders representing marginalized groups to ensure equality and equity are a cornerstone of privacy discussions.
Our Team
Amelia Vance
Amelia Vance, a globally recognized expert in child and student privacy, is the Founder and President of the Public Interest Privacy Center and Chief Counsel of the Student and Child Privacy Center at AASA, the School Superintendents Association). In that capacity, she advises government agencies, policymakers, companies, and other organizations on legal protections and actionable best practices to ensure the responsible use of child and student data.
She is also an adjunct professor teaching U.S. and E.U. privacy at William & Mary Law School and co-chair of the Federal Education Privacy Coalition. Amelia is a regular speaker at privacy and education conferences in the U.S. and abroad, has testified before Congress and several state legislatures, and has presented at events hosted by the U.S. Department of Education and the Federal Trade Commission.
Morgan Sexton
Morgan Sexton is the Ethics and Privacy Counsel at PIPC and Project Director of the Student and Child Privacy Center at AASA, the School Superintendents Association. Morgan primarily focuses on researching and writing about proposed legislation related to child and student privacy and providing privacy technical assistance to non-profit organizations.
Prior to joining PIPC and AASA, Morgan worked with Amelia as a student and child privacy consultant. Morgan earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Roanoke College and her Juris Doctor from Penn State Law. Morgan is a member of the Virginia State Bar and a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US, CIPP/E) through the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
Katherine Kalpos
Katherine Kalpos is the Vice President of PIPC and the Director of the Student and Child Privacy Center at AASA, the School Superintendents Association (AASA). Katherine came to PIPC and AASA with extensive experience in nonprofit management, grant management, and public policy, but also leadership experience within the niche student and child privacy world.
Previously, Katherine served as the Deputy Director of Projects and Operations for Youth and Education Privacy at the Future of Privacy Forum. She also has previous experience at the American Political Science Association, National Network to End Domestic Violence, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the National Alliance to End Homelessness. She received her MPA with a concentration in Applied Politics: Women, Public Policy, and Political Advocacy from American University. Originally from Tennessee, Katherine attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she earned her B.A. in Political Science.