Authored by PIPC Staff

Fixing FERPA: Protecting Student Privacy in the Cloud

Authored by PIPC Staff, Featured Resources, Legislative Analysis, PIPC Resources / By / /

Protecting Student Privacy in the Cloud December 13, 2024 Jessica Arciniega, Katherine Kalpos, Morgan Sexton, Amelia Vance, and Casey Waughn   CC BY-NC 4.0 From one-to-one devices to virtual reality experiences, technology has become an integral part of the educational journey for today’s students. Edtech provides schools the opportunity to enhance student learning experiences in countless ways, such as using algorithms to personalize individual learning experiences to each student’s strengths and interests, or using virtual reality field trips to teach students about different places. But while technology has great potential to enhance and supplement traditional instruction, schools often do not […]

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

Articles, Authored by PIPC Staff, Blogs, Featured Resources, Legislative Analysis, PIPC Resources, Recommended Resources / By /

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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Comparing Provisions in KOSMA and KOSA

Authored by PIPC Staff, Blogs, Featured Resources, Legislative Analysis, New Resources, PIPC Resources, Recommended Resources / By /

Comparing Provisions in KOSMA and KOSA The Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA) and the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) are progressing through Congress, both with the shared objective of protecting children online. KOSA attempts to achieve this goal with broad requirements that are aimed at making the platforms minors use safer. KOSMA, on the other hand, aims to protect children from social media in two main ways: Prohibiting minors under age 13 from creating or maintaining social media accounts Prohibiting social media companies from targeted content to to minors using algorithms Requiring schools to block and filter social media

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Comparing Definitions of “Social Media Platform” in KOSMA

Authored by PIPC Staff, Blogs, Featured Resources, Legislative Analysis, New Resources, PIPC Resources, Recommended Resources / By /

Comparing Definitions of “Social Media Platform” in KOSMA The Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA),* introduced on May 1st, is a bipartisan bill that combines Senator Schatz’s Protecting Kids on Social Media Act and Senator Cruz’s Eyes on the Board Act. According to the press release, KOSMA aims to: “Prohibit children under the age of 13 from creating or maintaining social media accounts, consistent with the current stated policies of major social media companies; Prohibit social media companies from pushing targeted content using algorithms to users under the age of 17; Provide the FTC and state attorneys general authority to

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House Improves KOSA, but Major Problems Persist for Schools

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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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Comparing Requirements for Schools Under E-Rate & KOSMA

Authored by PIPC Staff, Blogs, Featured Resources, Legislative Analysis, New Resources, PIPC Resources, Recommended Resources / By /

Comparing Requirements for Schools Under E-Rate & KOSMA The Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA), introduced on May 1st, is a bipartisan bill that combines Senator Schatz’s Protecting Kids on Social Media Act and Senator Cruz’s Eyes on the Board Act. According to the press release, KOSMA aims to: “Prohibit children under the age of 13 from creating or maintaining social media accounts, consistent with the current stated policies of major social media companies; Prohibit social media companies from pushing targeted content using algorithms to users under the age of 17; Provide the FTC and state attorneys general authority to

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

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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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Student Privacy Primer

Authored by PIPC Staff, Featured Resources, PIPC Resources, Recommended Resources / By /

Student Privacy Primer Juliana Cotto, Edith Mandinach, Amelia Vance, Jim Siegl, Anisha Reddy, Tyler Park, and Jasmine Parks This primer explains the concepts of student data, including who uses the data and why they use it; data privacy in general; student data privacy; student data privacy risks and harms; how student data privacy relates to data ethics and data equity; key federal privacy laws; key district and school policies; and what it means to foster a culture of privacy. Each of these sections and a concluding section list additional resources to help education stakeholders learn more about student data privacy.

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Recommendations for School Districts

Authored by PIPC Staff, PIPC Resources / By / /

Part IV: Recommendations How to Reduce Risks, Ensure Equity, and Protect Student Privacy when Implementing Self-Harm Monitoring Programs As schools and districts attempt to protect students amid the strains of the pandemic on student well-being, education stakeholders should remember that privacy protections can enhance mental health support programs by encouraging students to feel they can safely ask adults for help because they know that the information shared will remain confidential. Before adopting monitoring technology, schools and districts should understand key facts about how the technology works, how its implementation may impact students with mental health needs or disabilities, and how

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Legal Considerations

Authored by PIPC Staff, PIPC Resources / By / /

Part III: Legal Considerations Legal Considerations for School Districts In addition to understanding privacy and equity impacts, schools should be aware of important legal implications associated with adopting monitoring technologies and collecting student information related to mental health and potential to self-harm. In addition to CIPA (described here), there are several federal laws and protections that may influence how school districts can implement self-harm monitoring programs, manage the student information collected through such programs, and interact with students identified through self-harm monitoring. Additional state laws may apply as well. Schools should be aware of federal and state regulations that may

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