Articles

AI Changes Everything: Why Student Data Review Can’t Wait Another Semester

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AI Changes Everything: Why Student Data Review Can’t Wait Another Semester October 15, 2025 Jessica Arciniega, Katherine Kalpos, Morgan Sexton, and Amelia Vance       CC BY-NC 4.0 As schools embrace the potential of AI, a critical question demands attention: How do sophisticated AI models alter what it means to protect student data? For starters, it underscores the need for schools to reassess the data they collect from students and the duration for which they retain it.  AI makes students’ sensitive information more vulnerable than ever before. Earlier this month, the Texas Attorney General filed a lawsuit against edtech […]

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New COPPA Case: What a Recent FTC Amicus Brief Does–and Does Not–Change for Schools

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New COPPA Case: What a Recent FTC Amicus Brief Does–and Does Not–Change for Schools September 3, 2025 Jessica Arciniega, Morgan Sexton, and Amelia Vance       CC BY-NC 4.0 Introduction On August 13, the FTC filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit against edtech vendor IXL Learning (Shanahan v. IXL Learning Inc., 3:24-cv-02724, (N.D. Cal.)). Since then, there has been speculation that the Commission’s interpretations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), as outlined in the brief, somehow change existing COPPA obligations regarding schools and edtech vendors. This blog outlines exactly what this case is about, the FTC’s

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Senate Commerce Advances COPPA 2.0, With Notable Changes

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Senate Commerce Advances COPPA 2.0, With Notable Changes July 15, 2025 Jessica Arciniega, Morgan Sexton, and Amelia Vance       CC BY-NC 4.0 On June 25th, the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) was favorably reported out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Recap: What is COPPA 2.0?  COPPA 2.0 is a bill that seeks to update and strengthen safeguards in the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a federal law enacted in 1998 that regulates how commercial operators can collect personal information from children under 13 (see these resources for more

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Fixing FERPA: Adding Cybersecurity Requirements

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Fixing FERPA: Adding Cybersecurity Requirements July 3, 2025 Jessica Arciniega, Morgan Sexton, and Amelia Vance   CC BY-NC 4.0 The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) governs how schools handle everything from report cards to sensitive psychological evaluations. Yet this cornerstone of student privacy law was written in 1974—nearly three decades before most Americans had ever heard of the internet, and long before anyone imagined that a single cyberattack could expose the intimate details of millions of students’ lives. The result? A massive gap between the digital threats students face and the legal protections designed to shield them. Today,

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Supreme Court Upholds Age Verification: A Game-Changer for Child Online Safety Laws

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Supreme Court Upholds Age Verification: A Game-Changer for Child Online Safety Laws July 1, 2025 Jessica Arciniega, Morgan Sexton, & Amelia Vance   CC BY-NC 4.0 Introduction Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a major decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, upholding Texas’s law requiring adult websites to verify users’ ages before allowing access. While this case specifically addressed pornographic content, the ruling’s implications likely extend far beyond adult websites—potentially reshaping how courts evaluate the dozens of state laws designed to protect children online that have repeatedly been blocked by federal judges over the past several years. TLDR:

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Kids Online Safety Act Returns

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Kids Online Safety Act Returns June 2, 2025 Jessica Arciniega, Katherine Kalpos, Morgan Sexton, and Amelia Vance       CC BY-NC 4.0 The fight for a safer online experience for kids is back on the table. On May 15th, Senators Blackburn and Blumenthal reintroduced the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), bringing back the exact same proposal from December 2024. We’ve been down this road before, meticulously tracking every twist and turn. But this year, it’s time for a clean slate. This blog cuts through the noise to reveal KOSA’s core components and their potential impact on minors, parents, and

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FERPA Priorities in the New Administration

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FERPA Priorities in the New Administration May 7, 2025 Amelia Vance and Morgan Sexton   CC BY-NC 4.0 TLDR: Within the first month of the new Secretary of Education being confirmed, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) announced FERPA enforcement priorities. This reflects an unprecedented focus by a new presidential administration on student privacy. The priorities flagged by USED include: Parental Right to Inspect and Review Education Records;  Safety of Students;  Annual Notification of Rights; and  Military Recruiters. USED also asked State Education Agencies (SEAs) to submit documentation on their and their LEAs FERPA compliance. USED’s focus on FERPA compliance

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Recapping USED’s Recent Surge in FERPA Enforcement Activities

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Recapping USED’s Recent Surge in FERPA Enforcement Activities  April 17, 2025 Morgan Sexton and Amelia Vance   CC BY-NC 4.0 The student privacy landscape has shifted dramatically in recent weeks, with the U.S. Department of Education (USED) initiating two statewide FERPA investigations in California and Maine. This blog post unpacks these investigations and shares our new infographic showing the steps in a FERPA investigation.  As always, if you have any questions feel free to contact our team! TLDR: On March 27th and 28th, the USED Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) launched two FERPA investigations of the California and Maine state

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KOSA’s Constitutionality Concerns: Do KOSPA’s Edits Fix the Issues?

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KOSA’s Constitutionality Concerns: Do KOSPA’s Edits Fix the Issues? December 12, 2024 Jessica Arciniega, Katherine Kalpos, Morgan Sexton, and Amelia Vance       CC BY-NC 4.0 As the 118th Congress nears its end, PIPC has been closely tracking the likelihood of federal child privacy protections becoming law. As you may recall, the Senate passed the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act (KOSPA) in July, incorporating two major child privacy bills–the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teen’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0). The House Energy & Commerce Committee passed versions of KOSA and COPPA 2.0

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Mitigating Risks in Student Surveys: An Overview of PPRA

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Mitigating Risks in Student Surveys: An Overview of PPRA June 2024 Jessica Arciniega, Katherine Kalpos, and Amelia Vance CC BY-NC 4.0 Following the switch to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was widespread public concern about student mental health as students faced social isolation and lost access to vital school-based services. These concerns intensified when the 2023 US Surgeon General advisory showed an alarming upward trend in mental health issues among high school students from 2009 to 2019, including a 40% increase in reports of persistent sadness or hopelessness, a 36% rise in those seriously contemplating suicide, and a

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