Rewriting School Books
The 2000-2001 school year could be a cram year for marketers. Proposed changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) would restrict marketing and research activities in schools, and may take effect as early as fall 2001.
The Senate is considering The Student Privacy Protection Act, introduced last November by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D, CT) and Sen. Richard Shelby (R, AL) as an amendment to the ESEA, which dictates federal funding for grade schools and high schools. At the same time, the House is discussing an amendment of its own that would limit in-school research and calls for a study on the extent of commercialism in schools.
Each bill requires that schools get parents’ permission before collecting marketing data from kids. Both address growing concerns over kids’ privacy as schools partner with marketers to supplement tight budgets. The national Parent Teacher Association (PTA) likes the restrictions, but the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) don’t.
It’s unclear how much money schools would lose if forced to cut ties with corporations. Marketers could lose access to the nearly 70 million school kids under 18.
Sponsors stress that the bills don’t prohibit corporate alliances, just require that parents be told about them. “It’s not Rep. [George] Miller’s intent to say there should be no commercialism [in schools], because he can’t guarantee the money and he knows schools are strapped,” says spokesperson Danny Weiss. “It would be valuable to know the extent of commercialism.”
Legislators cite a few in-school activities they consider inappropriate, including a cable TV network that had New Jersey school kids fill out a 27-page booklet, “All About Me,” as part of a marketing survey; a cereal taste-test and poll in Massachusetts schools; and a deal with ZapMe! Corp. that puts free computers in classrooms, then tracks students’ browsing habits (February 1999 promo).
The Senate put its bill on the back burner after a full Senate review last November. In April, H.R. Bill 2915, introduced last September by Miller (D, CA), was approved by the House Education and the Workforce Committee and folded into H.R. 4141. The House is debating other provisions in 4141 and may not act on the bill before its October adjournment. Some speculate that legislators will wait until after November elections to enact the bills, which make major reforms to the 1956 Education Act.
The National PTA supports both bills, and criticizes any marketing data collection in schools. NSBA and the AASA oppose the bills because they would severely restrict students’ Internet access, undermine local control, and burden local school administrations. “This is vintage local school management,” says Dan Fuller, NSBA director of federal programs. “Local school boards have been doing this for years and [have] developed their own policies – with community input.”
