Articles

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

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

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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Fixing FERPA

Did you know that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a student privacy law that has been around for nearly 50 years, was influenced by the rise of computers? Did you know that FERPA restricts educational apps from using student’s personally identifiable information for anything other than the educational purpose approved by the school? Did you know that, contrary to popular belief, FERPA is continuously and actively enforced by the U.S. Department of Education? Despite its continued applicability and relevance in today’s data-driven education landscape, FERPA is often criticized as outdated and insufficient. But the prevalence of inaccurate

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House Improves KOSA, but Major Problems Persist for Schools

House Improves KOSA, but Major Problems Persist for Schools May 2024 Katherine Kalpos, Morgan Sexton, and Amelia Vance       CC BY-NC 4.0 Introduction On April 9, 2024, Representative Bilirakis released the text of the House version of Senator Blumenthal’s Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). The bill, which is fundamentally based on valuable goals and principles, includes many positive revisions to better align with KOSA’s underlying goal to protect kids online. However, concerns remain that it may create major unintended consequences for schools. In particular, KOSA may limit the ability of schools to effectively implement edtech into instruction and

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From Data Privacy to Discrimination: Examining the Legal Ramifications of AI in Schools

From Data Privacy to Discrimination: Examining the Legal Ramifications of AI in Schools April 2024 Morgan Sexton and Amelia Vance       CC BY-NC 4.0 Introduction The incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere at the moment – and schools are no different! While using AI to improve systems and educational outcomes for students is an exciting prospect, it should be done carefully and with consideration for the legal landscape. AI in education is subject to a myriad of education, child privacy, consumer, and civil rights laws. We’ve created this brief to provide an overview of the

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A Privacy Protective Path to Using Technology in Schools: Parental Consent is Not a Panacea

Parental Consent is Not a Panacea: A Privacy Protective Path to Using Technology in Schools December 2023 Katherine Kalpos, Morgan Sexton, and Amelia Vance       CC BY-NC 4.0 Introduction Data collection, use, and sharing are everywhere–and classrooms are no exception. Schools increasingly use a wide array of technologies for many different reasons, ranging from promoting student learning and success, to making data-informed decisions, and also operationalizing administrative tasks. When harnessed correctly with appropriate privacy protections in place, technology in schools can enhance teaching and learning in powerful ways. But there are also serious privacy risks to introducing technology

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Practical Considerations for AI & Integrated Data Systems: Implicit Bias

Practical Considerations for AI & Integrated Data Systems: Implicit Bias November 6, 2023 Morgan Sexton, Katherine Kalpos, and Amelia Vance There has been lots of hype recently around artificial intelligence (AI), including its magical promises and potential risks. While it may be tempting to get swept up in the potential around AI and incorporate it into Integrated Data Systems (IDSs) right away, it is crucial to understand that AI is only as good as the information fed into it and the soundness of the algorithms that it relies on. Additionally, the implementation of AI into IDSs can create significant ethical

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Protecting Privacy of School Directory Information

Protecting Privacy of School Directory Information December 2018 Amelia Vance Originally published by the National Association of State Boards of Education CC BY-NC 4.0 Students do not have the right to attend school anonymously, but they do have a right to have their information protected and used responsibly by local and state education agencies. State boards can help their states strike this balance. When the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was first passed in 1974, schools realized that they had a problem: Without ongoing consent from parents (or an applicable FERPA exception), they were unable to ask students

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West Virginia’s Steady Course on Student Data Privacy

West Virginia’s Steady Course on Student Data Privacy February 2016 Amelia Vance Republished courtesy of the National Association of State Boards of Education© State policymakers in 47 states introduced almost 300 education data privacy bills in 2014 and 2015, and 33 states passed new laws over the last three years. Before this flurry of legislation began, West Virginia’s Board of Education (WVBE) had already become a leader in ensuring that the privacy of student data was protected while allowing for the innovative use of data to help students succeed. Amid the earliest alarming headlines about data security breaches at major

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