Report

Student Privacy’s History of Unintended Consequences June 2020 Amelia Vance and Casey Waughn1   Previously published in the Seton Hall Journal of Legislation and Public Policy I. INTRODUCTION It is difficult to imagine a world in which schools cannot print students’ names on the honor roll or in school playbills; announce student athletes’ names, heights, and weights at the start of a game; and share financial aid information with appropriate institutions to ensure that students can finance their education. Yet, in the months following the enactment of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, and forty years […]

Lessons 1 & 2 Lesson 1: State Boards Shape Data Privacy Policy Significantly As education leaders and policymakers, SBEs have a responsibility to ensure that state and local data collection is secure and protects individual rights. SBEs should take action if state policy falls short of these criteria for effectiveness. They have a further responsibility to use their state platforms to call for changes in federal law and industry standards that would ensure appropriate collection, use, and security of education data. State boards are well positioned to act. As noted above, 36 already have some legal authority over student data

Policymaking on Education Data Privacy: Lessons Learned April 2016 Amelia Vance Republished courtesy of the National Association of State Boards of Education© Introduction When teachers and schools use data and technology to tailor instruction to individual needs, students benefi t through enriched, accelerated learning. Teachers and schools can use education data to measure whether particular teaching methods are promoting student learning. State policymakers can use data to make judgments about the eff ectiveness of standards implementation and then improve policies or allocate additional state funds or technology support in response. Parents can have timely information about whether their child is