Senators Propose Student Privacy Protection Bill
(MarketingClick) A bipartisan proposal in Congress would require parent’s written consent before companies can collect elementary and secondary school students’ information for marketing purposes.
Senators Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) are the sponsors of the proposed legislation, which also includes technology firms that provide schools with free computers and Internet access while monitoring student’s online habits by age, gender and zip code.
The national Parent Teacher Association has endorsed the proposal as well as a parallel measure proposed in the House.
However, groups that represent school administrators and school board members have rejected the student privacy proposal.
According to a joint statement by the National School Boards Association and the American Association of School Administrators, the move would have a “chilling affect” on collective ventures in which local schools and business currently participate in by “drastically increasing the administrative and financial responsibilities of the local school.”
Dodd and Shelby said they plan to propose the measure as an amendment to the 35-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act, set to expire this year.
The Act provides money for schools to help improve poor children’s grades and test scores, train teachers and fund other programs aimed at increasing student achievement.
In a parallel measure, proposed by Rep. George Miller (D-Calf.), all schools that receive funding under the Act are required to get parent’s permission before companies collect data from students for marketing purposes.
In addition, the measure would require that parents receive information in writing about the data to be collected, the companies’ use this data, how much class time will be involved and if the companies are paying the schools for this information.
Currently, about 86% of the nation’s public schools receive funding from the Act.
